West Ham United Blog

Curbishley earns stay of execution

Alan Curbishley seems to wear the same expression no matter what mood he is in but he must have been blowing bubbles underneath his steely demeanour after yesterday's 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.  For the first time this season, the performance matched the result with various eye catching cameos. 

The most important being the midfield - Noble showed what he is made of with some timlely tackles and great inter changing with the silky Scott Parker.  Etherington put in lots of effort and looked very happy to have his left back partner George McCartney back later in the game.  Faubert and later Behrami offered a threat on the right.  Up-front, it did not take long for Craig Bellamy to make his mark returning from injury.  If he can stay fit, he really can be the difference for us this season.  Cole worked his socks off again.

We did ride our luck at certain points, but to be honest, even if we had lost, it would not have felt like the end of the world.  It was similar in that respect to the Spurs match we lost at home 4-3 two seasons ago, in that the belief that it instilled was as important as the result.  But where do we go from here?  Curbs's biggest challenge now is to keep this up, to do this again at West Brom, to produce at home in a couple of weeks against Newcastle.  He has earned the right to prove this by giving us a performance with the kind of football we want to see Upton Park.  But will an injury here or there see that train easily de-railed?  We'll have to wait and see.  Anyway, on to the player ratings;

Green - 8 - Man of the match, brilliant performance, conceding one goal while the man who makes the England squad on the other side of the pitch concedes 4

Neill - 7 - pretty solid game from Lucas and nice assit for the Bellamy goal

Davenport - 6 - nice goal and is a real threat on set-pieces, could do with improving his defensive positioning

Upson - 6 - a very quiet game from Mr Upson but certainly did nothing wrong

Behrami - 6 - better going forward than he is getting back, witness Santa Cruz losing him easily in the box

Etherington - 6.5 - got involved more than he has done recently and looked more of a threat

Noble - 7 - strong performance from Mr Noble, would love to see more of this

Parker - 7  - such a classy plyaer, I really enjoy watching Scott Parker

Faubert - 7 - there are some still giving him a bit of a hard time but I reckon this lad can be a real key player for us

Cole - 7 - strong performance from Carlton only spoiled by a couple of dreadful first touches

Ashton - 6 - not bad from Deano but a bit of a quiet day at the office for him

Curbishley - 8 - got the tactics and subs bang on for this game

West Ham v Blackburn Rovers preview

Well, midweek was a debacle, we all know that.  Waiting for the Macc Lads to drop down to ten men before being able to exert superiority is again not good enough.  The only decent thing to come out of it was the youngsters showing some of the seniors how it is done.  But we cannot get carried away with them and Paul Ince’s Blackburn team will provide some stiff opposition.

Quite hard to pick the team, a couple of people have come back and some have started the season appalingly.  We’re going to need some bite in the middle, which is why I am including Bowyer.  I’m not his biggest fan but one thing he is capable of is breaking up the play.  I assume Noble is suspended for this one?  Macca looked out of sorts and I’m not sure rushing him back is great plan, so I’d give him a run from the bench.  Up-front, it’s a tricky one but I’d start with Cole and Ashton and give matchday mascot Freddie Sears a run out for the last half hour.  So my line up would be;

Green

Neill – Upson – Davenport – Behrami
Etherington – Parker – Bowyer – Faubert
Ashton – Cole

Bench – Latuvska, Mullins, Sears, Boa-Morte, Spence, McCartney, Widdowson

It’s a tough one to call and mystic blog got things wrong last week, but I’ve got a feeling the crowd will give the lads a lift and not accept Ince getting the better of us on our home turf.  However, Rovers will give us a good run for their money, so I’m going with a 2-2 draw and Paul Ince to be booed a lot.  Coral will give you 14/1 for that result, though they won’t take bets on Incey being booed, I imagine that is what they would call a dead cert.  Anyway, pick up a free bet by clicking below and come on you Irons!!!!!!

Not a noble performance

There are two distinct schools of thought at this time of the season for those whose clubs have a poor start.  One that it is to set the tone for the rest of the season, the other that it's early doors and things can only get better.  Having witnessed the first two matches of the Hammers this season, I am unfortunately falling in the former.

First up, anyone who thinks the sending off  in yesterday's game against Man City was the turning point is deluded.  We had not shown anything up to that point and the sending off merely exarcebated our weaknesses rather than start them.  I had of course stated the case for not including Noble in my preview, to much derision, but I really hate to say I was right.  He's a local lad and one with his feet on the ground, but at the moment I am not seeing what he is adding to the team.  Yet again, we were over-ran in the middle with no authority in the park whatsoever.  As a result, there was no service to the front men and we were chasing the game from the off.  I've never been a fan of Mullins but have come to appreciate him more as he gives us a chance to break up the game in the middle and to push on with it.

But what of everyone else?  Behrami does not look like a defensive player in any shape or form and I found Faubert very disappointing yesterday.  On the left, Etherington was anonymous and if allegations of his liking for a fag are true, he may want to think about cutting down on these to improve on his powder puff performances.  The only positives for me were Davenport still looking fairly strong and I didn't think Neill had a bad game, especially when you consider he is being played out of position.

There is a week left of the transfer window and I really do fear for us if we do not make some quality additions to the squad.  We can't realy on getting the injured players back as they won't be around long enough.  A centre mid and cover at left back is desperately needed.  Up front, I think we will be okay and I'd like to see more of Sears, he just looks so hungry for it every time he comes on.  We face the Macc lads on Wednesday and if we are to set a tone for the season, it needs to start then with a right rollicking.  Anything less and it's going to be a long, hard season for sure.

Manchester City v West Ham Preview

After Saturday’s stuttering start, the Hammers visit Manchester City on Sunday in front of the Sky cameras.  It’s definitely an interesting time to be visiting Eastlands, with City seemingly in some disarray.  The savvy appointment of Mark Hughes was followed by strange goings-on behind the scenes, with players allegedly being touted for sale behind his back.  And City did not get off to the best of starts, with a 4-2 defeat at Villa on Sunday..

As for the Hammers, the good news is that Ashton’s injury appears to be cramp and not much more and he thinks he will be fit for Sunday.  There are two changes I’d make to the squad (assuming Macca is not back).  I’d give Freddie Sears a run out and place Carlton on the bench.  I don’t think Sears should be starting every game but I reckon he will really un-nerve an already hesitant City defence.  The other change, and I can’t entirely believe I am saying this, would be to bring in Mullins for Noble.  City would have watched how easily our midfield was over-run and we cannot let the same thing happen again.  Mullins is a better ‘stopper’ in this respect.

So my line up would be;

Green

Neill – Upson – Davenport – Behrami
Etherington – Parker – Mullins -  Faubert
Ashton – Sears

Bench; Lastuvka, Cole, Boa Morte, Spence, Reid, Noble and Bowyer

I’m feeling fairly confident about this one for some reason, If we can get an early goal I reckon we can knock the stuffing out of them and the crowd and walk away with 3 points.  Mystic Blog is predicting a 1-0 nick with Ashton inevitably getting it.  Those of you kicking themselves on not taking my 2-1 prediction last week, can make up for it by getting 8-1 for the 0-1 to the Hammers with Coral and a free £10 bet, just click below.

And a reminder the game is live on Sky.  Haven't got Sky?  What do you mean?! Click Here

Anton to go?

Reports in some of the papers yesterday and today have suggested Anton Ferdinand may be off to join the Spurs graveyard in North-East, aka Sunderland.  The Daily Mail even stating that we had accepted an £8m bid for the player.  If ever there was a right price for a player, I'd say £8m fitted Anton quite well.  He is a decent centre half for sure, but has not pushed on from his early promise.  Perhaps like his older brother, he needs a move in order to step up a gear.  Some sort of sell-on clause would not go amiss though, just in case he htis the £30m bracket in the future.

Centre half is a position we do have some cover for, even if half of it tends to be injured.  Davenport showed a good game on Saturday and if he can keep that up, he could make the position his own alongside Upson.  We really could do with spending the money on cover at left back if the cash does come through, let's see what happens over the next few days...

West Ham 2 Wigan 1

What a great start to the season.  No, not the performance at Upton Park, but my prediction of a 2-1 victory.  Hope some of you took a punt at that price and if not, fear not as Mystic Blog will return next week.  Onto the game and all I can say is if anyone thinks this was a good start to the season, they are mistaken.  West Ham were shaper for the first 20 minutes and took advantage of a Wigan side seemingly struggling with daylight.  But as soon as Wigan asked questions, our ability to provide answers was seriously questioned.

The key area was in the middle of the park.  The pairing of Scott Parker Mark Noble is just not working and both are culpable.  Noble is a top lad as everyone knows and I hate to criticise him, but although he runs himself ragged, he has failed to control a game from the middle for some time now.  Parker will provide silky passes and accurate long balls all day long, but is not a great tackler or much of a physical threat.  These guys were basically over-run by a tough Wigan midfield and we can just count ourselves fortunate that Wigan were not good enough to capitalsie on their superiority. 

My other criticism is that Curbishley struggled to come to terms with the problem for some time.  Mullins was eventually introduced and maanged to calm things down, but our need for a midfield enforcer has become greater.

Onto some positives, there were three pretty decent performances yesterday.  Obviously super Dean Ashton scored a brace and looked sharp as ever, then inevitably hobbled off with an injury.  Callum Davenport put in a good performance and his height can really make a difference.  But in my eyes, my man of the match was Julien Faubert.  I've been amazed to read some criticism of his performance on some forums, he was our main creative threat throughout and full of running.  Anyway, here are my ratings...

Green - 6 - could not really do much for their goal, was put under some un-necessary pressure by the back four with wayward back passes and just about handled these, though his kicking could do with some improving

Neill - 6 - certainly not a bad performance from Skippy the Skipper, but his lack of stamina meant who could not really partner very well with Etherington which limited our attacking options down the left

Upson - 6 - not the most commanding performance from Matt and some poor distribution make it a non-memorable game for him

Davenport - 7 - a solid performance from Callum and he made his presence felt throughout

Behrami - 5 - difficult deubt for the lad and got caught a couple of times, but with some time to settle looks like he could be a decent player

Etherington - 5 - struggled to get a foothold in the game and seemed to drift inside too often

Parker - 6 - some nice touches but failed to dominate the middle of the park

Noble - 5 - lots of running but little end product from our East End boy, perhaps needs to decide what he is best at rather than trying to do everything

Faubert - 8 - full of running and crosses, my man of the match for sure

Cole - 6 - was better in his defensive work than attacking, his touch up front was very poor

Ashton - 7 - superb first goal and sharp for the second, just hope he retains his fitness

Subs: I don't usually give credit to Mullins but he did do a good job when he came on, so fair play.  Freddie Sears looked very lively and constantly wanted the ball, really want to see more from him.  And what was Boa-Morte doing at left back precisely?

Overall, we were a bit lucky and definitely need to add some quality to the squad if we do not want a shaky season.  But 3 points were very welcome.

Some good news...

The first is that Ben Thatcher is set to sign for Ipswich Town, hopefully the West Ham management and board realised what a backward step signing him would have been.  On the other side of the coin, we have a real lack of cover in the left back position.  Quite why we did not make a move for a cut price Nicky Shorey before Aston Villa got in there, suggests the club are being very frugal with their spending.

In other news, we are facing Macclesfield Town in the second round of the Carling Cup, would should ensure a fairly simple progression, though this is West Ham we are talking about, so who knows what will happen?

West Ham v Wigan Preview

The first game of the season already?  Seems like only yesterday I was gleefully phoning up all my Spurs mates to inform them they finished on the second page of teletext, but now, a new season is already upon us.  I’ve already done my season preview so there is no point running through that again, so let us instead focus on the game ahead, Wigan Athletic at home.

As season starts go, we probably could not have asked for better, except perhaps Stoke or Hull, yet Wigan, emphatic 3-0 win at the JJB apart, have become somewhat sticky opponents for us and anyone expecting an easy ride under Steve Bruce’s limited but organised side will be disappointed.  Having said that, there have not been any very exciting additions to their squad since last season, with loan signing Amr Zaki the only one to really look out for.  According to the FIFA rankings, he is the best striker in the world, so let’s see what he is made of.

As for the Hammers, here is how I’d like to see us line up;

Green
Neil – Upson – Davenport – Behrami
Etherington – Parker – Noble – Faubert
Ashton – Cole

Bench: Stetch, Sears, Bowyer, Mullins, Boa-Morte, Reid, Widdowson

In absence of Ferdinand, Collins and Gabbidon, we’re going to have to go with that centre half pairing.  Also assuming Macca is still out, if he is back I’d expect Behrami to start on the bench.  I do not want to see Ben Thatcher’s name anywhere near the team sheet.  but apart from that, it's a fairly exciting first team to kick off and a good start is crucial for us this season.

I’m sitting in the East Stand for this one, the last time I did that, Colin Foster and Stuart Slater pushed us to a 2-1 victory over Everton and I’m going for a tight 2-1 win here with Ashton and Behrami scoring for the Hammers.  Coral will give you a tempting 7/1 and a free £10 for that result, click below if you fancy a punt...

West Ham Season Preview

Time for a pre-season view of how things may pan out this season.  I guess the best place to start is by looking at our strongest team

Green
Macca – Upson – Ferdinand – Behrami
Etherington – Parker – Noble – Faubert
Ashton – Bellamy

Subs: Lastuvka, Neil, Mullins, Boa-Morte, Sears, Cole, Spector

So, I’m making an assumption about Behrami being any good, but I felt Neill was a bit of a liability there for us last season, so would like to see what he is made of.  Etherington filling in on the left may be controversial, but apart from that, I’m not imagining too much debate from fellow Hammers on that team.  And, on its own, it’s not a bad starting eleven.  On the other side of this, we’re only a couple of injuries away from;

Green
???? – Spector – Davenport – Neill
Boa-Morte  - Quashie – Mullins – Bowyer
Cole – Sears

The lack of quality cover is going to be the real issue for us this season.  Yes, Sears is a hot prospect, Cole works his socks off, some love mullins.  But there are just too many weaknesses exposed throughout the team with no real cover at left back either.  With Bellamy and Dyer already suffering crocks and niggles, we are set to simply repeat last season’s activities of a patched up squad doing the best they can, which is frustrating as we have the capacity to do much better.  Without a new left back, centre mid (and now winger) and striker, I think our ambition will be very limited this season.

I think we’ll have an okay start with a couple of wins and draws but as the season goes on, the injuries will start to take a toll and we’ll be left fighting for draws where we should be winning and losing games where we just are not at the races. 

But how will our rivals perform?  Blackburn seem to be in a state of flux, Everton possibly over-performed last season and may find it hard to replicate that, particularly with the lack of additions to their squad.  Spurs have bought some quality, but the loss of Keane and inevitably Berbatov will level that out and it may take some for them to gel.  Portsmouth will do probably about as well as they did last season.  Hull and Stoke will be whipping boys.  I think the most exciting team of the season will be Aston Villa, with Martin O’Neill having had the time to build the squad he wants.  In the top half, I think Arsenal may stutter a bit and Liverpool may have to be taken more seriously with a front pairing of Torres and Keane, that’s as good as any in the league.

I believe it will be the lack of pushing on from our rivals that will save our season and will result in the Premier League looking much like it did last season.  We will finish somewhere between 9th and 12th, lower than that should be considered failure, higher than that success.  A cup run would be nice and I think European football, either through the league or cup, should be our top priority.  Come on you Irons!

Anyhow, let me know what you think via the comments, am I being too pessimistic or just realistic?!

Bye, bye Freddie...

Crikey, I do a post on how quiet it all is down Upton Park and all of a sudden the stories are out there.  To the Spurs reading fools, your club did make an official bid for Ashton, so there is no point pretending you didn't!  Seems though the Tottering Hotshots fans are not very keen to have Deano in the side.  And indeed, why should they, Darren Bent put 4 past Norwich therefore he is now definitely a world class striker, as opposed to the paraplegic carthorse witnessed last season.

I digress, the club have confirmed the departure of Freddie Ljungberg from the club.  Freddie  had two years left of a three year contract, but has by mutual agreement, left the club.  West Ham have presumably saved some cash by virtue of not paying his alleged £85,000 a week and have come to some sort of settlement.  It's not a great loss by any means, Freddie was a peripheral player for us last season, although towards the end of it, he did start to show flashes of the player he once was week in, week out.  it was clear however that he simply was not as good as he used to be.  I don't see any reason to wave him goodbye with anything but a 'thanks for trying' as I think his heart was in it, just the body was not so keen.

This however leaves an even bigger gap of quality cover in our squad, and I believe it is crucial we spend some cash on another winger to provide extra cover for us.  Let's see what the club have in store for us.