West Ham United Blog

Cole out for England while Upson waits

Carlton Cole has returned to West Ham after his short stint of international duty on Saturday.  Having sorely missed the lad while he served a two game suspension, I guess I'm not the only Hammers fan who screamed at the box on Saturday when he hobbled off with an abdominal/groin  injury.  Cole looks certain to miss the match against Sunderland this Saturday as well, so we won't be seeing him in the new England kit again soon.

However, Matthew Upson and Robert Green are still with the squad (although Pakrer should have been called up, i'm kind of relieved that he wasn't).  I don't see Green getting a game as James continues to first choice but Upson will be waiting on news of Rio Ferdinand to see if he will be adding a cap.  he certainly deserves it and only made one error on Saturday which was blown out of all proportion, usually by Spurs fans still crying that Woodgate/King weren't there.  Anyway, if Matt is called in to start, I'm sure he'll do us proud, just hope he does not get any koncks, there is not much more room left at the Hammers Hospital!

Carlton Cole injured

Carlton Cole has been taken off injured after a fleeting appearance for England. Cole had come on to replace Heskey who was hamstrung. However, after only about 15 minutes, Carlton pulled up with a groin strain. Don't know how serious it is but I'd say he looked in quite a bit of pain and could be out for a couple of weeks, not good news for the Hammers.

Collins and Upson back...drop Tomkins?

Both James Collins and Matthew Upson have made their international squads and are expected to play some part in the friendlies this weekend.  A Welsh FA spokesman said of Collins "It is not ideal that James will not have played any football ahead of the internationals, but he seems confident he will be OK."  So, with these guys back, will James Tomkins find himself back on the bench for the game against Sunderland?

On the face of it, it would seem a little harsh.  Tomkins has been excellent since he came in for Collins against Bolton and has handled some very tough centre-forwards very well.  In fact, we have conceded less than a goal a game in his recent run of matches.  However, there is something about the air of confidence that COllins and Upson bring us, alongside their experience which you just feel is core to our stability.  Tomkins is more prone to mistakes and it is quite right that he should be.  He is young and still earning the game whereas the other two have somewhat older and wiser heads.

There will be more injuries to come and if we do gain a European place next season, it will definitely become more of a squad game.  Tomkins time will certainly come and at some point in the future, he will be the first on the teamsheet.  But for now, as we hit the choppy waters of the final stretch of the season, it may be some more experienced hands on deck to see us through.

Blackburn 1 West Ham 1

The Hammers held on for a hard fought point at Ewood Park yesterday, read on for the verdict and ratings...

Blackburn v West Ham preview

It's nice to write something non Sheffield United based for a change!  The West Brom game was dreadful and frankly not really worthy of a review, it would have bored you and I to tears.  Just goes to show the importance of Cole up-front, though we clearly missed Bherami and Collison as well.

Am a bit rushed this evening, so will go stright to my team selection;

Green

Illunga - Upson - Tomkins - Neill

Boa-Morte - Parker - Kovac - Savio

Tristan - Di Michele

Bench: Lastuvka, Spector, Payne, Sears, Stanislas, Noble and N'Gala

This will give us much needed natural width.  While Tristan has not exactly pulled up any trees, he is more experienced than Sears who was frankly poor against Brom.  I think Noble is the one who should be sacrificed in this case, Kovac is improving and Parker is currenntly un-droppable for me.  Upson and Savio are having late fitness tests and fingers crossed they get through.

For Rovers, there is some good news in that Santa Cruz is out injured.  However, Blackburn need this one more badly than we do and I've got a horrible feeling about it.  Although we've gone and got results the past two seasons, I think Rovers need being greater than ours will push them ahead.  I'll be happy to take a 1-1 and no further injuries, be great if Savio got a goal and boosted some confidence there. Oh well, up the Hammers!

The silence of other clubs and supporters over Tevez will come back to haunt them

At work, I sit next to a lovely fella who is a Villa fan.  I've only been at my job a few weeks and come Monday morning's we have gentle banter and a laugh over the weekend's results.  He probably thought I was a normal guy with a perfectly normal passion for the game.  Then last week, the Tevez affair hit the headlines again.  Rather than gently talk of the topic, I turned into a frothing lunatic.  He looked slightly scared and tried not to bring up the topic again.

Why was this?  Well, clearly because it affected a club that means so much to me.  A club I've loved since my first game in 1982 and who have made me scream with delight (Zamora against Preston), made me lots of money (Di Canio against Man Utd) or cry on Valentine's Day (Oldham 6 West Ham 0).  But actually, it's more than that.  It's not just about a club I love, it's about a game I love too.  Sky, Abrahimovic, rich arabs et al have come into the game in recent years and have threatened to overwhelm it.  But it has still kept its drama, tension and excitement.  Now, the next time an important result occurs, you can think, doesn't really matter, we can always sue them.

Some may think this is a ridiculous argument, that football will never come that stage.  I'm afraid my friend, it already has.  Sheffield United's rabid pursuit of 'justice' has opened floodgates, floodgates which will not close now the affair is over.  And the silence of other members of the leagues and a lack of outrage from football supporters surely has something to do with this.

When I talk to other fans, their lack of understanding of the implications of this whole debacle astounds me.  To be fair to fans of Ambulance Chasers Sheffield United FC, I would not expect them to be against their club receiving a large sum.  Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.  But what about everyone else?  It might be our club today pal, but tomorrow it could be yours.  I recall Brighton being in trouble a few years ago and sending them a few quid and my best wishes, as I would hope any other supporters would do to my club if they hit the wall.  In the past week I've heard indifference and smug smiles (mostly from trophy-less Spurs fans) but no one has quite understood the implications of this or made a vocal shout of support in our defence (save for some excellent media commentaries by the likes of Martin Samuel).

The only thing we can do now is sit back and wait for this ugly action to occur again.  I think it is the end for us regarding our payments, but already Sheffield United are now looking at action being taken agaisnt them by Ken Bates.  Others may even follow.  And then one day, a secretary at a lower league club will forget to fill in a form or send a fax.  A player will ply his honest trade throughout a season and then at the end of it, irregularities will come to light and the club will be sued by the other clubs in the league.  And small voices will cry in despair as bankruptcy threatens their club and they seek to rally round people they imagine will support them.  Other fans and indeed blogs - blogs like this one.  And what will they hear in response?  Oh, just silence.....

So what became of the Dream Team?

So, the Sheffield United players are now allegedly considering legal action due to their loss of earnings as they are no longer Premier League quality players, sorry, Premier League players.  Hmmm, thanks to the Guardian we can see what happened to the 'dream team' whose failure to beat Wigan on the last day of the season resulted in their relegation.  Did the players end up gracing the grass of Old Trafford and Anfield?  Or perhaps decided to take their talents abroad to the San Siro?  Erm, no actually, it seems most of them ended up at mid table Championship side Crystal Palace.  Or at QPR. Or Scottish giants Hearts.  Or not palying at all really.  So not the Premier League then.  No.

Have a good laugh at them all here

Ten questions for Neil Warnock and Sheffield United

1.  When Carlos Tevez played against you and we lost 3-0, how many points would you say he was worth?

2. If Rule 18 of the Premier League states;

No club shall enter into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams in league matches or in any (other) competitions.

And your website reported;

Meanwhile, in the Watford camp, striker Steven Kabba is ineligible to play in this weekend’s fixture due to a clause in his £500,000 move from Bramall Lane in January.

What's the difference between this and the Carlos Tevez affair?

3.  There have been many vacancies for Premier League managers since you got relegated, yet Neil Warnock has not been associated with any of these, why not?

4.  Dean Ashton was ruled out for most of the season by a challenge whilst on England duty.  How many points do you think a fit Dean Ashton is worth in a season?

5.  Do you think it is healthy in football for players and managers to be suing clubs for issues they have already paid double jeopardy for?

6.  Would you sue a referee if he failed to give a penalty against you because you could argue it was worth three points?

7.  When Sheffield United lost at home 2-1 to Wigan on the last game of the season, whose fault was that?  Who can you sue to get it over-turned?

8.  Why are you not suing Liverpool for fielding a weakend team against Fulham?

9.  You spent 12 years in Division one/Championship before spending one year in the Premier League, do you consider the Premier League to be your rightful place?

10.  Are you aware that you are really boring everyone with your spurious claims and enough is enough?

Meanwhile, many congratulations to Barnsley for beating Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace tonight.  This is Palace's 16th defeat of the season and leaves them in mid-place in the Championship....

10% off football retro shirts

It's a nice sunny morning and I thought I'd add to the start of your week by passing on a nice discount code.  Toffs carry a pretty good range of retro football tops for most teams, including the Hammers.  We've teamed up with them to bring you a 10% off discount code when you buy from them.  Simply click here and click ‘enter a promotional voucher’ at the checkout and enter the code: va5hy7

You can get yourself good West Ham retro gear like this shirt here;

The discount code expires on 30th April 2009.  Enjoy!

West Ham v West Brom Preview

West Ham face relegation candidates West Bromwich Albion live on Setanta on Monday night, read on for a full preview...