West Ham United Blog

West Ham face Barnsley in 3rd round of the FA Cup

We have been drawn at home to Barnsley in the FA Cup third round.  It's not Sheffield United as we had hoped but as openers go, we should be going through to the next round with this fairly easy tie.

Update:  Sheffield United face Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road, so maybe we'll be able to give the Blades a warm wlecome to the East End!

2nd Update:  Fair play to Barnsley fans who are looking forward to indulging in a Sheffield United hate fest as much as us.  In retrospect I think 'fairly easy' may have been somewhat cocky, nonetheless it is a game we should be winning, but how many times have us Hammers fans said that?  It was more in the context of the draws we could have that I felt it was a good draw.

Liverpool v West Ham preview

If there ever was a game to bring us back to earth with a bump after last Sunday's triumph, it is facing Liverpool at Anfield.  I can't recall us winning there in any shape or form whatsoever and trust me, I'm no spring chicken.  I recall coming pretty close, I think a freak Zamora goal put us into the game and Agger pulled them back, but overall, we usually get trounced.

So, how should we approach this one?  Well, frankly with the same committment and drive that we showed against the Mackems.  I would make a couple of changes however.  I'd go with the 442 and sawp Bowyer for Mullins to disturb Gerard as much as he can and I would actually have LBM in place of Faubert.  LBM just seems to keep other players occupied, even if it is just by fouling them all the time, but I recall he did a job for us like that at Chelsea and he can make a bit of a nuisance of himself.  This is what we need to do, we need to keep Liverpool busy as if we don't their waves of attacks will make us pay with the quality of Torres and Keane.  My team;

Green

Illunga - Collins - Upson - Neill

LBM - Mullins - Parker - Behrami

Cole - Bellamy

Bench: Lastuvka, Bowyer, Sears, Davenport, Faubert, Collison , Di Michele

A real tough game and if we can come back with a draw and our thrid game unbeaten in a row, that will give great confidence going into the Spurs match the week after.

This game is on Setanta and if you were ever going to get it, now is the time.  We are on three times this month (this match, Spurs and Villa) so you'll definitely get your monies worth....

Sears commits to Hammers

Following the news yesterday of Carlton Cole signing for 5 years, it appears the Hammers can't stop the contracts coming, as young Freddie Sears has also signed a 5 year deal with us today.  The contract will see Freddie with us until 2013.  I imagine Hammers fans feel slightly better about this than they did yesterday's news, but let's not forget both are still young players learning their trade. 

In my view, if we had one more attacking option then I'd pack Freddie off to get loan experience somewhere and ply his trade there for a while.  I don't think it harmed Frank Lampard or Jermaine Defoe when they did the same.  As it is unlikely, let's hope we see Freddie pushing on from his amazing debut last season against Blackburn.  He clearly has frightening pace and a brave attitude - I think his decision making needs to improve as does his awareness, but all in all, a great prospect for the future.  Glad to habe you on board Freddie!

Watch highlights from Sunday's game...

You can see the highlights from Sunday's win at Sunderland here.  No matter how many angles you see the Behrami miss from, you still wonder how the **** did he miss it?!

Hammers seal Cole until 2013

Carlton Cole has today signed a 5 year deal with the Hammers which keeps him at the club until 2013.  This is an interesting deal, more so for the timing than anything else.  With plenty of specualtion of who will be coming and going in January, this could be a signal of intent by the board to prove there will be no fire sale.  On the other hand, with Cole frankly being one of our less illustrious players, it could mean we are keeping hold of players of less value than say Bellamy or Upson?  Not quite sure how to read it to be honest.

As for Carlton, I still have time for him as a player.  He can be immensely frustrating at times but he works hard every game and when confident can go on a nice goal scoring run.  And he is our top scorer at the moment, though that is not saying much!  Anyway Carlton, we've got you settled for the next 5 years, now lets start to see some of that raw talent shine through eh?

Sunderland 0 West Ham 1

Wow, a real tough game up in the North East today but a victory we deserved if only for our endeavour.  Today was by no means about total football.  There was some slick passing by us on occasion but it was all about the bodies in defence and winning the aerial onslaught seeking to provide Cisse and Jones with the ammunition to cut the Hammers down.  That we survived is mainly due to top defending and in particular the Ginger Maldini, James Collins.  Some top, top defending by the lad.

With 3 tough games (oh okay, two and Spurs) to come we really needed a win today, especially after our recent home run.  We won this game because we were prepared to play ugly football to get the result and this may be a turning point in Zola's managerial career as he realises you have to build from the back before the you can have the front line playing to your symphony.  We need victories like this and eventually we can start to build the football we play but this is ultimately a results business and while none of us want to play like Bolton, we may have to resort to it occasionally to ensure our safety and for there to be a foundation to build on.

Right, on with the ratings;

Green - 7 - top man as ever

Illunga - 5 - quiet game from our lad, seems to have been told to curb his attacking enthusiasm, did a job though

Upson - 7 - solid game from the England defender

Collins - 8 - man of the match, no doubt, top game

Neill - 6 - when he had best, he must have been excellent, not a bad game but he can be caught out

Faubert - 5 - frustrating as ever, set the goal up but little else was accurate

Bowyer - 6 - not bad but was losing his legs somewhat

Parker - 7 - Sky's MOTM, had a decent game and at least kept his legs for longer this time

Behrami - 7 - wish he'd got the second but a decent performance and he seemed delighted to score us and Frankie, could become a favourite

Cole - 6 - some on the forums say it was his worst game which I think is harsh, he's had better days but please let's not start getting on his back, he needs confidence to shine

Bellamy - 6 - should have finished his chance, bustled around but never greatly troubled Sunderland

Subs - Mullins - 6 - did a good job breaking up play.  LBM - 6 - gave them something to think about when he came on.  Di Michele - hmmm, can I pass?

Zola/Clarke - 7 - two clean sheets on the trot, hopefully starting to turn things around

Really pleased with this 3 points, definitely needed it to keep ourselves out of the relegation vortex.  Proud of you all lads, well done Hammers!

West Ham Christmas Gifts

Well, it's getting to that time of year when we try to forget some of our on pitch perfomances and get excited about Christmas and all.  If you are stuck for presents for a West Ham fan, have no fear, west Ham blog is here!  We've set up a special page with our friends at Amazon.co.uk with best West Ham gifts out there, so take a look at our Christmas gift shop now!

Whiter than white Blades need to get their own house in order...

Having bored the nation with their pursuit of 'justice' the Blades find themselves with fingers pointed at them by Iain Hume of Barnsley who was the victim of a vicious challenge by Sheffield United's Chris Morgan.  Wonder who the Blades, who blame West Ham for their relegation rather than taking responsibility themselves, are going to sue to get themselves out of this one....interview appears in the Times.

Sunderland v West Ham match preview

The Portsmouth game was certainly an anti climax, so it’s off to the Stadium of Sh*te for a trip to Sunderland to kick start Zola’s West Ham reign.  The Pompey game was so dull it hardly justified its own post.  Great for us to keep a clean sheet and tighten things up at the back, thogu hwe did have Rob Green to thank for keeping it that way.  It’s up front where we need some inspiration, there is no lack of endeavour from Bellamy and Sears but we really need to turn pressure into goals.

So, onto this Sunday’s game live on Sky.  Sunderland had lost 4 on the trot but stopped the rot against Blackburn Rovers last Sunday.  They are a very beatable team but we really have to turn up and put the pressure on them if we are to get a result.  And of course, we will be able to see our old friends George Macca and Anton Ferdinand, both of whom can expect at least a round of applause from Hammers fans in my view.

Onto the team and I’d definitely go 442 up there, so my team would be…

Green

Illunga – Upson – Collins – Neill

Etherington – Mullins – Parker – Behrami

Cole – Bellamy

Bench: Lastuvka, Collison, Sears, Bowyer, Boa-Morte, Davenport, Faubert

A bit harsh on the youngsters Sears and Collison but I’d love to bring them on towards the end of the game to give Sunderland something to think about rather than inviting pressure due to a lack of fitness that we have done recently.

Like I say, a winnable game and another I don’t think we can afford to lose at the very least.  2-1 to the Hammers is my shout with Bellamy getting on the scoresheet.  Coral will give you 10/1 for that so if you fancy a free bet, click below, come on you Hammers!

Update - team adjusted, one of those days!

West Ham v Portsmouth Preview

Sorry, bit later than usual and jsut a quick one this week.  I've already spoken about the importance of this one and I just pray Frankie Z can turn the bad run around with a win against Portsmouth this Saturday at Upton Park.  He certainly can't use injuries as an excuse, according the offical site, Behrami, Upson and Tomkins are all fighting fit, plus we have Cole back. 

As we have the players for it, I'd like to go 442 for this one, perahps moving to a 433 when attacking with Behrami pushing further up front...

Green

Illunga - Upson - Collins - Neill

Etherington - Parker - Mullins - Behrami

Cole - Bellamy

Bench: Walker, Tomkins, Faubert, Sears, Collison, LBM and Bowyer

That's a strong team we can put out and a decent bench.  I love what Collison showed last week but let's keep him as a sub for this one and he can come and run them ragged when Parker is, erm, tired!  I'm going for 2-0 to the Hammers, come on you Irons!!!!!!