West Ham United Blog

West Ham 0 Arsenal 1

West Ham's positive start to the season hit a stumbling block in the shape of the team any Premier Leauge side does not want to face at the moment.  Arsenal are playing with great confidence at the moment and with a strike partnership of Adebayor and van Persie, they have some real strength.

Again there were real positives to be taken from the game.  We probably deserved a draw and indeed had the referee's assistant not incorreclty called Ljungberg as offside, we would have had one.  Although Arsenal looked more potent on the break, I never thought they totally outclassed us, as they had done in the dark days of 'we've got Dennis Bergkamp, you've got Scott Minto'.

Scott Parker made his first home league start, a reasonable performance from him although I expect to see alot more in the future.  Have to say that Hayden Mullins had a big effect on the game when he came on as sub and played very well.  He made himself busy and available and if he plays like that every week, i might start seeing why manager's persist with him.  We missed Etherington on the left dearly, with Freddie cutting inside and not looking to take on the full back enough.

Deano continues to build his fitness and push for his England place, alongside Robert Green, he was probably our best player on the pitch.  Lucas Neil again raised questions, he was arguably at fault for the goal we conceded, however in the second half he was agressivley pushing up a lot more and was involved in alot of our attacking moves.

Overall then, not that many highlights but 1-0 against the league leaders is no disgrace, next up Aston Villa's Reo-Coker and Harewood!

Bet on West Ham v Arsenal

Well, if there was ever a tough game to call it's this Saturday's local derby at Upton Park.  I'm not going to read too much into last night's performance against Plymouth, there will be suitable team changes for Saturday and the atmosphere will be in a different league.  I'd like to see Parker and Noble in the middle and it has to be Anton and Mattie in the centre just to keep with the pace of Arsenal's attack.

Result wise, a tough one to call, Arsenal are a very strong team and are gonna be our toughest opponents so far this season.  But I'm feeling confident and who's to say we can't get one over them again?  Coral have 2-1 at 12/1, go for it

West Ham 1 Plymouth 0

Forgive me for a short psot on this one, but it's just hard to get excited about right?  Kind of reminded me of those dark days in the early nineties when we used to entertain the likes of Hull and Oxford on cold, rainy evenings.

Just a few things to note - Ashton is quickly turning into runaway leader for Hammer of the Year.  I told all my mates he was a snip at 1 million on the Sun Dream team and they are now starting to see why.  Thanks Deano, let's hope you get rewarded with an England call up, you thoroughly deserve it.  Great to see Scott Parker kicking a ball in anger, can we drop Mullins now please?

At the back, we are still clearly suspect and the coaching staff really need to pull thier finger out on this one.  Danny G was a top boy when he first started but his confidence looks shot, perhaps a loan move somewhere for a couple of months will help him out?

Anyway, great to be in the draw for the next round but next up is Arsenal at home, I'll be doing my infamous predicition this evening but this one really is hard to call....feel free to post your predicitions for Saturday in the comments...

Newcastle 3 West Ham 1

It’s an interesting emotion to feel disappointed without feeling despondent but that is how I felt after yesterday’s defeat to Newcastle United.  I feel this way because there were some very encouraging things about yesterday’s performance by West Ham and it was a match that could have easily tipped in our direction.  That it didn’t was down to some poor performances, but let’s look at the positives first.

Dean Ashton continues to grow in confidence and fitness, his finish for our goal was exceptional and his overall play was strong.  Some of our passing from the middle was also excellent, with Noble working tirelessly again.  Even Carlton Cole, still the target of idiotic boo-boys showed a tremendous workrate if somewhat backed up a limited technical ability.  I watched the game on TV with a friend who supports Spurs and even he admitted that Newcastle looked like the away team for long periods.

So why did we lose?  Well, simply shoddy defending at the back.  Lucas Neil is a quality player who I have a lot of time for but his current form is not good.  He was caught out of position a number of times and also gave the ball away for their second goal.  It’s frustrating as we know he is capable of so much more, perhaps a rest from 25 hour flights is in order.  Anton Ferdinand is also another who Hammer who infuriates.  Blessed with natural ability and pace, Anton should be a Hammer’s legend in the making.  Instead he is prone to bouts of poor concentration and reflexes.  With a criminal trial in November, Anton does have other things playing on his mind but he really needs to focus for 90+ minutes in order to improve his game.  Hayden Mullins is the final one for me to point out.  I still believe Mullins is a football manager’s type of player – one of those who manager’s love but fans just cannot understand.  For me, he needs to offer a lot more to his game than short passing and I am frankly excited for when Scott Parker is in full fitness.

As I say, not despondent, we’ve got Plymouth in the Carling Cup this week and I’d suggest we do the following;

Rest Lucas Neil
Give Freddie Ljungberg a start – he looks like he needs the fitness
Start with Carlton Cole and Henri Camara, give them a run and maybe a confidence boosting goal
Give Scott Parker a run out
Give James Collins a game – for me he is an essential part of our squad and he needs to feel a part of it

Curbs - take note!

Board changes at Upton Park

The official site has announced some boardroom changes.  The main element sees Eggert Magnusson move to a non-executive role, which I assume will mean we see less of him.  Eggert said "I have enjoyed my time as Executive Chairman but feel the moment is right to stand back a little as we move into a new and exciting period".  I'll miss Eggert as our front man to be honest, he has greatly impressed me with his dignity and articulate manner.  However, this move seems to be in keeping with most football clubs and is with a view to making us run more like a proper business, even Eggy would admit he cannot do everything.  Let's see how things turn out....

Bet on Newcastle v West Ham

Well, forgive me for feeling a little cocky after last week's prediction but I am feeling in confident mood in making this week's bet.  It is a tricky one to call however, Newcastle can be a bit of an unpredictable team.  Two wins, two draws and a defeat sum up their season so far.  Michael Owen was also pulled off the pitch against Derby County and may well not be in action on Sunday, which will certainly be a good thing. 

The Hammers on the other hand will be fresh from the confidence boosting 3-0 defeat of Middlesbrough and with Parker and Ljungberg returning to full fitness, it is healthy squad to take up to St James's Park.  As regard team changes, ideally we would have the team that started against Boro last week.  If not, it might be worth starting with Carlton Cole, just to see if he can gain some confidence away from home, though there will be plenty pressing for Camara if Bellamy's groin is still giving him trouble.

As for my safe bet, I'm going for a 1-1 draw here which you can get 11/2 for from Coral Bookmakers.  if you fancy a punt or want to check out the other permutations, just click here

West Ham Credit Card

If you want further details on how to get hold of it, we've put together some more information here

West Ham 3 Middlesbrough 0

Just when I was about to give up my little predictions idea, the Hammers pulled one out of the hat for me and fulfilled my pre-match prediction of a 3-0 victory.

It was a fairly comfortable ride for the Hammers although had Boro taken advantage of a couple of lapses of concentration at the back, it might have been a different story.  I'm delighted that Dean Ashton broke his duck for the season, it could have easily been something that dragged on and on.  Less pleased to see Craig Bellamy hobble off following his recent form and I hope he is back soon.

One bone of contention appears to be Carlton Cole.  Whatever your view on the guy, booing him when he comes on as a sub is just not on.  Treating our players worse than opposition players is not constructive and has a negative effect not only on the player but on his colleagues who feel they are only a couple of mistakes from similar treatment.  Please, if you are one of the boo-boys, stop and save it for Gary Neville.  Cole has limitations as a player but he can work hard and can get some goals.  Okay, he is not clinical like Ashton or Bellamy but they are two top draw players who have been called on to represent their country, let's give him a chance.

Apart from that, all good at Upton Park and good to see a half time teamtalk having the desired affect.  Nice result lads, now lets go and put one over the barcodes!

Bet on West Ham v Middlesbrough

Well, it's lucky I cite myself as a blogger rather than a tipster as my tips so far have been appalling.  And I even missed out the Bristol Rovers match, when I was going to tip a win.  So the key is, if you do the opposite of what I suggest, you may well come up smelling of roses.

West Ham are home to Boro this Saturday and I will be very dissapointed with anything but a win.  Following on from our Reading performance, I don't see any reason to change the side, especially give a resurgent Matthew Etherington a chance to rebuild his confidence at Upton Park.  Freddie Ljuingberg is back in full training and could be a very useful sub, but against an average side at home, this is a 3 pointer.

The good people at Coral Bookmakers are offering 14/1 for a 3-0 victory, so if like me you think my tipping ship has got to come in good sometime, click here or you can also take a look at other scores.

Danny Dyer spoof

Danny Dyer is rumoured to be a West Ham fan, so I guess he is alright by me, but I hope he forgives me as this is very, very funny...