West Ham United Blog

Sunderland 2 West Ham 1

Well, I did say it would be 2-1, but not quite how I imagined it to turn out.  It was pretty tight and had we still had 11 on the pitch I think it would have still turned out to be a draw, but their tails were up and they wanted and needed it a bit more and got 3 points in their cup final. 

The important thing now is for us to finish ahead of Spurs, I've had banter with my Spurs mates all season and they keep saying 'let's wait till the end of the season' in fact, they've been saying that since September!  There's only a few games left and I'd really like us to finish above the whingers from Sh*te Hart Lane and show them what a 'big' club really is, so let's see some momentum for the next match against Pompey Hammers!

Sunderland v West Ham match preview

So we're off to the Stadium of Sh*te on Saturday for 3 points against the Mackems.  I know, I'm not usually so optimistic but I fancy us in this one.  Sunderland are a pretty mediocre team and are there for the taking.  The only danger could be Kenwyne Jones giving the boys at the back a bit of a run around as he did at Upton Park and with Upson out again, this could mean trouble.  Aside from that, I don't think we have anything to fear from this side and we should really push on at them with a 442.  So, my line up would read...

Green

Macca (congrats on the new arrival George) Tomkins Ferdy Skippy

Ljungberg Noble Parker Solano

Ashton Sears/Zamora

I've got all faith in Mr Tomkins at the back after his debut last week and like I said, I think this is a great game to start Sears on, provided he has recovered from his groin strain, otherwise Bobby Z has recovered from his blisters!

My money is on Sunderland 1 West Ham 2 - Coral will give you 10-1 and a free 10 quid bet, so it that bad boy comes in you'll be looking at a hundred quid and be thanking me forever.  Click the link below for your free bet...

Update: Oh, I love it when opposing fans take the bait, so a warm welcome to all those from Roker Park's very own ReadytoGo website, if any Hammer's fans fancy seeing opinions about cockneys that have not been around since the dark ages, take a peek - http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=318167&page=1

Chimney sweeps, bless em!  What is it about the North East?  There was of course my famous Newcastle post, don't I get some credit for that Mackems?!  Jesus, there is no pleasing some people....

Everton 1 West Ham 1

Well, the Hammers surprised probably most of us by getting something from this game.   Not only that, but it was a match we were unlucky not to win by the end.  Everton are an exceptionally well organised team and certainly proved hard to break down for the first 45 minutes, an early effort by Tomkins notwithstanding.  However, by the end of the match, when we had switched from 451 to 442, it was Everton on the back foot and who can count themselves lucky after a late Freddie Sears effort hit the inside of the post.  Anyway, here are my ratings...

Green - 7 - confident disply by the Green 'un

McCartney - 6 - a fairly quiet performance from Macca but defensively sound

Ferdinand - 7 - strong performance from Anton with the inexperienced youngster alongside him

Tomkins - 7 - got rolled for the Everton goal but I love the look of this guy.  He is a calm, big lad and his distribution looks to be pretty sound, could be another great Hammers discovery

Neil - 7 - Skippy gave us his best performance for some time, looked strong and commanding, let's have more of this mate

Boa-Morte - 5 - looked to be keeping himself out of trouble more than anything, played like a child who has been scolded by a teacher, didn't do too badly when on the ball but didn't look like he wanted to get involved

Mullins - 5 - I thought Hayden was very poor yesterday, played the defensive pass when an offensive one was a better option and his overall distribution was not great

Noble - 6.5 - took a while but got into the game and really started making a contribution later on

Parker - 6 - similar to Noble really, did much more as the game went on

Ljungberg - 6 - full of running but never consistently troubled the Everton defenders

Ashton - 7 - great finish and looked more up for it

And of course, young Freddie Sears came on again and looked a real handful, great pace and does not seem to know what a lsot cuase is, look forward to seeing more from the lad.

Overall, a good performance from the Hammers and as usual we looked muich better when we went to 442.  Bring on the Black Cats!

Everton v West Ham Preview

Saturday sees the Hammers on Setanta Sports for a tough match away to Everton.  Having steadied the ship against Blackburn on Saturday, this is a really tough game to follow up on.  Goodison Park is not exactly a happy hunting ground for us, though I do recall Tim Breaker scoring there one New Year’s Day.  But had this followed our trio of 4-0 defeats, this could have easily been the fourth.

Curbs also has a dilemma in terms of who to play up front.  Some will be clambering for Freddie Sears to start after his fantastic debut on Saturday. I, and I imagine Curbs, will err on the side of caution for this one and start with Zamora and Ashton, with Freddie getting another run out in the second half.  I’d rather start Freddie against Sunderland, where he can cause some real damage as an unknown quantity, rather than having their scouts suss him out in a game we are not necessarily expecting much from.

I’m unsure if Boa-Morte is back in contention as his card was a second yellow rather than straight red, but either way, I don’t want him near the teamsheet.  Matthew Upson is in the England squad so one can assume is fit for this Saturday.  So my starting selection would be;

Green

Macca, - Anton – Upson – Skippy

Ljungberg – Noble – Parker – Solano

Zamora – Ashton

Subs – Wright has gone on loan to Southampton, so I can only assume Jimmy Walker is sub goalie alongside Sears, Mullins, Spector and Pantsil

Prediction?  A real toughie and frankly not feeling much optimism so 2-0 to Everton, sorry, just being realistic.  If you agree or disagree a free £20 bet awaits you at Coral by clicking the link below.  Come on your Irons, prove me wrong!

No to Nobby?

Rather amazingly, on one of the West Ham forums, there is talk that Nolberto Solano should move on next season, what with him hitting 34 and all.  What utter rubbish, Solano is one of if not the best set piece taker at the club.  Okay, so he is not going to give you 90 minutes week in, week out, but he really can give you a match winning performance, like this one....

West Ham unveil Technical Director

Just a quick one as I'm off to a mate's to watch Birmingham City slaughter Newcastle United, the worst kept secret in football is now official, Gianluca Nani has been officially unveiled as West Ham's Technical Director.  He has got some interesting form and don't be too surprised if we have a few Italians in our line up by next season.  You can read more on the official site and I'll do a longer post on him shortly.

West Ham 2 Blackburn Rovers 1 - player ratings

I don't like to use the word 'big' for describing matches, like the way Sky tell us that Birmingham v Derby might be a 'big' game, but yesterday's result was a big one for us, make no mistake.  After 3 shoddy performances, it was time for Curbs to show what he was made of and to prove he is big enough to turn things around.  And credit to him, that's exactly what he did.  I'm not going to hide, I've laid into him a bit for the past 3 results and rightly so, especially against Spurs but yesterday he got it spot on.

Naturally most of the talk is about young Fred Sears who made a tremendous impact on the game.  I wouldn't have backed starting him for a game as important as this one was, but bringing him on when we did was impeccable timing.  He looks pretty fearless, has great pace and I reckon a sharp eye for goal.  And by the way everyone celebrated, he looks like a well liked lad as well.  I can't wait to see more from him.  As for the rest of them, thoughts summed up in rankings...

Green - 6 - still looks a little shell shocked from the past couple of weeks but not to blame for the goal and made a great save as well

McCartney - 7 - frankly contender for Hammer of the Year for me, solid and consistent he goes about his job without fuss, a real asset this season

Spector - 6 - did okay, but would you have him in place of a fit Upson?  No.

Ferdinand - 6 - got a bit tormented by Roque, gets exposed when not playing with Uposn alongside him, need a bit more from our Anton

Neill - 6 - out of position for the goal we conceded but apart from that not a terrible performance, just still not very commanding

Ljungberg - 6.5 - starting to give us something every week is Freddie and can make a real difference

Parker - 7 - still getting back into the pace but for me he oozes real class and will make a real difference when fully fit

Mullins - 5 - pretty average, someone pointed out he plays much better when part of a 5 man midfield and I think that's right, he doesn't do enough for me as part of a centre two pairing, I'd much rather Noble was in there

Solano - 7 - love this fella and his cheeky set pieces, he doesn't just pour sweat, he cascades!

Zamora - 7 - made a real contribution and tired to get involved as much as possible

Ashton - 7 - much improved performance from Deano who was looking fitter and much more willing, plus a great goal as well

But man of the match - Sears - 10 - of course!

Strong performance form the lads against a team who had not lost in the league in 2008, well done to the lads and respect to Curbs, let's keep it going...

West Ham v Blackburn Rovers preview

Well, it's certainly been a testing time to be a Hammers fan the past couple of weeks and the rot must end on Saturday.  At the very least, avoiding defeat is crucial, but this is a game we should win.  With Curbs under pressure for the first time (I don't count last season, he was on a hiding to nothing), now is the time for him, and indeed the players to show us what they are made of.

The Spurs game, despite the disgraceful result, was certainly the best of the three defeats in terms of the performance and for glimmers of hope.  However, changes do have to be made.  I'm not sure if Boa-Morte's suspension starts with this game, but either way, I don't want him near Upton Park.  This is how I want us to start

Green

Macca - Anton - Upson (Spector if not)- Neil

Freddie - Noble - Parker - Solano

Zamora - Ashton

Bench - Wright, Pantsil, Cole, Faubert  and Sears

This gives us two attacking options on the bench and hence why I would leave out Mullins - I don't think he has done anything wrong but he is not a player who changes a game.

Our opponents come to us in some form, having lost just once in the Premiership this year, and that was to Arsenal, so a tough game it will be.  But if we get at them with some of the attacking football we have seen glimpses of, the result should come our way.  Though I've got the feeling Curbs will be concentrating on not letting four in and will settle for a 1-1 draw.

You can now get a free £20 bet with Coral.co.uk - who are incidentally offering 80-1 on a 4-0 defeat!  Click the link below for your free 20 quid bet...and if you win, don't forget to give some cash to Pottsy (see below)...come on you Irons!

Help Hammers Legend Steve Potts raise money for charity

One of the most under-rated players of the 90s, Steve Potts, will be running the marathon this year and in doing so is raising money for the charity Children with Leukemia.  As noted in an earlier post, Steve Potts was a real Hammers legend.  Though rather short for a centre half, he had a reading of the game and sense of timing that was second to none.  Rarely got injured and giving 100% was taken as a given in every match 'Pottsy' played.  West Ham Blog will be making a donation shortly but in the meantime if you can spare a few quid for a great cause and a true Hammer, click here to donate.

Sort it out West Ham...

Another game, another 4-0 defeat.  Like I posted a couple of weeks back, this mid-end of season malaise which has found us safe and without the drama of last season is clearly affecting us. 

So I’ll start with the positives and trust me, it won’t take too long.442 is the way forward for us for the rest of the season, provided Deano and Bobby Z keep fit.  I felt our overall shape was much better and had we not conceded two goals so quickly, then it might have been different.  I also thought considering he was coming back from injury, Scott Parker looked a class above yesterday and let’s hope likewise he can stay injury free.

Okay, the negatives will take slightly longer.  I have to say my immediate reaction was that I don’t want to see Boa-Morte in a Hammers shirt again.  It was obvious he was going to go, the only benefit of the doubt I could give Curbs is that he hoped he would last till half time before sorting him out.  In the cold light of day, I still think a bench position is his rightful place when he returns from suspension.  It’s frustrating with him, as I still think there is a decent player in there, it’s just his modus operandi of running around the pitch and winding players up is not going to win us matches.

The defence is now a real worry.  Anton looks little lost and Neil is certainly not commanding the right back position.  We clearly missed Mr Upson but that’s not excuse for shoddy marking.  I’m also a bit worried about Mr Green, although you can’t really blame him for any of the goals, I’m wondering if the lack of recognition from England has dented him a little bit.  He just seems a bit shell shocked at the moment and I hope he gets his commanding presence back soon.

My final point is Curbs, for me he still needs to spend a bit more time building rapport with those around him and should certainly spend less arguing about the amount of minutes added time.  I don’t see any virtue in getting rid of him at the moment, he may was well see us through till May.  But for his own reputation, he needs to change things around and if he struggles against Blackburn on Saturday, he might well find himself enjoying a longer Easter holiday than he anticipated.  My guess is the board will let him see it out until the end of the season and then post European Championship, a certain Croatian may find he is welcomed back to the club…