West Ham United Blog

Coventry 1 West Ham 2

Well. Frankly the less aid about this game the better.  We were very poor in the first half, showed a slight improvement in the second half (in spite of a centre mid pairing of Spector and Pantsil) and are fortunate to be going through to the last 8 of the Carling Cup.  We just weren’t at the races at all last night, Noble looked like he was still carrying round his pie and mash, LBM ran around like a headless chicken any most other players were anonymous.

For me the only ones to come out with any credit were Upson who had a really solid game for us, Etherington for waking up in the second half and at least trying to create something and Cole for constantly working and getting rewarded for his persistence in the last minute.  Richard Wright also looked like a safe pair of hands for when Green’s fingers are not available.

I know we were down to the ‘bare bones’ as Redknapp used to say, but we really need to up a gear this weekend for the game against Bolton.  A threadbare squad is no reason for those in the team to be giving lacklustre performances.  At least Camara and Solano will be options to give us some balance.  Let’s just hope the injury room does not get even bigger.

Coventry v West Ham preview

Don't know why but I am finding hard to get excited about this game - maybe it's too many beatings at the hands of lesser opposition in cups that has hardened me.  However, I seem to recall we have an okay record when it comes to the ones live on Sky.  The worry we have is firepower, with Ashton, Bellers and Zamora injured and Camara cup tied, Carlton Cole is the only natural striker we have, with LBM in a supporting role.    Solano is also understood to be cup tied so Bowyer will be a likely start on the right.  So back 4 probably unchaged though I would still like Neil to be given another rest and give Spector a run out in case he is required at some point.

I certainly don't think this will be a rout, we might get away with a 1-0 or 2-1 which will be a good result from a 'banana skin' Carling Cup tie.

Another great gift for a West Ham fan

With Christmas coming up, no doubt you will all be dropping hints as to what you want....3 points against Spurs, 3 minutes with Kelly Brook, etc but for the more realistic amongst you, you might want to point people in the direction of this great panoramic photo of Upton Park.  This will look great in your office, lounge or even bedroom if the missus allows it.  You can get hold of one from Kitbag, just click here

For more West Ham gifts, you can click here

Portsmouth 0 West Ham 0

A point at Fratton Park is no mean feat, especially considering my pessimism before the game, the boys done good. 

Sensibly, we started as I wanted, with natural width on both flanks, though it seems a little harsh on Matty to be on the bench while LBM took his place on the wing.  Carlton Cole put in another hardworking performance and is beginning to win over more Hammers fans.  But man of the match has to be Robert Green and the guy has to be England's number one sooner rather than later.   He knows where to parry shots, is an excellent stopper and is fantastic in one on one situations.  If there is one part of his game to improve it's coming out for crosses but almost every keeper could do with improving that.  Put him in the for the Austria friendly Mclaren and let's see what happens.

Other than that, everyone worked hard, especially the guys at the back.  Noble and Mullins were perhaps a little over-run, I would have still put Bowyer in for Mullins to counter the physical presence of Pompey.  Bellamy showed his suspect temprament and I hope he can keep his cool in future.  He was undoubtedly provoked by Hreidarsson but players can pick up on that weakness and Bellers should not have allowed him to wind him up.  I feel sorry for Nobby who could have won us the game, the chances certainly looked easy when replayed but in both cases I think the pace beat him, other than that I think he is a quality player to have in the team.

Overall, a good performance and one that sets up well to beat Dowie's mob in the Cup this week.

Comments

This is a blog and interaction is what makes it what it is.  However, comments which abuse either myself or other commenters or use offensive language will be removed without appeal.  In answer to the deleted comment, which if you missed suggested I was a part of the female anatomy for daring to predict that West Ham might lose a football match, I love and support West Ham unconditionally, but I am also a realist who does not live in a cuckoo land where I believe West Ham will win every game.  If I'm making a prediction, it is my job to make as accurate as possible and go with my head, not my heart.  I want us to beat Portsmouth - my Saturday night mood depends on us doing so, but for the reasons given below, I don't think we will beat a team who are currently playing better than we are.  The beauty of football is that it may or may not happen and we are all entitled to our opinion on what way we think it will go.  Let's just keep it constructive.

Bet on Portsmouth v West Ham

Whilst the scoreline against Sunderland last Sunday was comprehensive, it covered a multitude of sins.  Given the opportunity, Portsmouth can rip these sins and therefore us apart. 

Pompey have strong, big attackers in the shape of Utaka and Ben-Jani, who Gabbidon and Upson will struggle against.  My preferred pairing at the back will be Ferdinand and Collins (if fit again) or Upson if not.  I'm a fan of Danny G and think he has alot of ability and reads the game well, but his mind just seems to be elsewhere at the moment.  McCartney and Neil should be at full back.

In the middle, we have to bring some balance to the wings so a line up of Etherington, Noble, Bowyer and Solano does it for me.  Should Mullins be there instead of Bowyer?  Possibly, but I'd like to see Lee in his more natural central role taking control of things and in spite of Noble's average performances this season, he does more for me than Mullins.

Up front, it is pretty simple, Cole and Bellamy can combine and cause the Pompey defence trouble.

But will we?  Frankly, I don't think we will.  Harry Redknapp has built a team with strength married to solid technical ability and have been very difficult to beat this season.  If there is a weakness it is in defence, witness the Reading result a couple of weeks ago, but Redknapp will have been working on this and with strong presence up front I'm seeing us leaving Fratton Park with no points and a 3-0 defeat, console yourself with a 12/1 bet at Coral.  Don't forget, the game is on Setana Sports at 5pm on Saturday, let's hope the result proves me wrong.

West Ham 3 Sunderland 1

On the face of it, a comprehensive victory for the Hammers but Roy Keane's men can certainly count themselves unlucky not to have come away with at least a point.  Goals from Cole early on and an own goal and clinical finish by Craig Bellamy wrapped it up for the Hammers. 

Looking at performances, Matthew Upson will certainly have to look at his performance against Kenwyne Jones this morning, as he was out-muscled for 90 minutes.  One could not help but feel a fit James Collins would have given Jones less freedom.  The midfield has its own problems as well,  Solano must now be a starter with Bowyer dropping to the bench and give us natural width.  An improved Lucas Neil looked like he wanted to surge forward a little more, but with Bowyer tucking in each time, any attack down that flank was coming apart.

I’m delighted that Carlton Cole scored a goal and made himself busy, fully deserving the applause as he came off the pitch, hopefully it will be the start of a good run for him.  However, I hope that sections of the Upton Park faithful feel very stupid this morning for singing ‘ you don’t know what you’re doing’ when Curbs made his subs.  He clearly did know in this case and the game was won because of it.  Curbs said he’d had a discussion with Steve Mclaren about Robert Green and for me the boy wonder should definitely be given a chance in England shirt.

So, a performance which gave us the points but not many other reasons to be cheerful.  However, we a re a team with 9 injuries in our 3rd season in the Premier League having missed relegation by the skin of our teeth last season.  We have beaten the teams we need to beat in order to not be battling amongst them (Boro, Reading, Sunderland) and gave a good account of ourselves against Arsenal.  The only really poor performances were Man City at home which took everyone by shock and Wigan at home which maybe just had too much expectation on it.  Top half going into the winter months, I’ll settle for that….

Hammers in search for technical director

According to some of the Sunday papers, West Ham are looking to recruit a technical director to look after the youth structure and scout talent from abroad.  Curbs and chief exec Scott Duxbury have carefully worded the job description together to ensure that first team matters are still in the hands of the manager and that whoever is recruited does not have aspirations to become the first team manager.

I'm in two minds about this announcement - certainly some of the turmoil at Spurs and Chelsea among others have been caused by a technical director's role overlapping.  And certainly when a technical director recommends we buy a player and the manager does not want him, it can easily lead to conflict.  On the other side of the coin, it illustrates us growing up as a club, with a proper European network to build our 5 year Champions League plan.  I guess we have to take the risk in order to progress but it is a process that will have to be very carefully managed.

West Ham update for Sunday

We might have some real injury issues for Sunday with left-back George McCartney said to have hobbled out of Northern Ireland's match against Sweden leaving suspect cover in the form of USA international Jonathan Spector.  Spector has not really impressed since his move and he is the main reason we pressed for Nicky Shorey to move over in the Summer.  Up front, there is some speculation Zamora will be fit and Bellamy looks like he got through the Wales games, I'm still seeing Camara and Bellamy starting though Curbs might go with Carlton Cole to give us a little more height up there.

Update: According to the official site, Camara may make it, Ljungberg is being assessed and Bellamy is according to Curbs 'full of beans'.

Bet on West Ham v Sunderland

So the cameras will be at Upton Park this Sunday for the visit of Sunderland and expectations will be high.  With Dean Ashton still injured we might see a Camara/Bellamy strikeforce starting for the first time, which will be full of pace if nothing else.  I understand Freddie has a knock so our lack of natural width on the right will be a problem once again with Bowyer likely to fill in that role or perhaps Nobby will be given his debut having done 90 minutes for Peru in their World Cup qualifier.  Noble, after his brace for the under 21's, is a must start.

Roy Keane's Sunderland are an average side in my view and a good bet for the drop.  They can cause problems simply by their workrate but lack real flair for me.  So relegation candidates visit West Ham and so nothing but a home win will do.  In fact, I think it is time we gave someone a hammering and it may well happen this Sunday so I am going for a slightly optimistic 4-0 home win which you can get 33/1 at Coral for.  To check that and other bets click here