West Ham United Blog

Hammers get little return from Rovers

Hmmm, possibly my worst headline yet, but to be honest it goes well with what was one of the worst games I've seen at Upton Park for some time.  But I think it all boils down to one simple equation, and that is firepower= winning.  We've got some very hard working and skillful players, but up-front we are crying out for a natural finisher to put the final touch on all the build up play.  It was the same story against Pompey on Tuesday to be honest.  But if we have Mccarthy and at the end of Monday, I'll be confident of turning these draws into victories.  However, one thing i do know is that one defeat in six is not relegation form.

Before the ratings I want to give a big shout out to Julien Faubert.  I had a comments debate with some fans the other day about Faubert.  For me, he has been the most improved player this season, while we see others such as Collison and Illunga go backwards (Jack clearly has had a tough time and I think needs another break).  But Julien came back to Upton Park the fittest of them all and has been determined to show why we paid £7m for him.  Yesterday his performance was good but the fact he played 48 hours after the death of his mother makes his performance all the special.  Well done Julien and thank you.

Green - 5 - possibly the first time I've given him a five, his kicking was atrocious and in spite of a couple of good saves, just didn't like his body language yesterday

Spector - 7 - it's not a good day when one of your best players is the left back, but Specs played possibly his best game for the Hammers yesterday

Upson - 6 - pretty solid

Tomkins - 7 - likewise and growing in stature, seeing the Tomkins we thought we had now

Faubert - 8 - my man of the match, based on the performance and the circumstances

Collison - out of sorts on the wings, think he can be better dispensed as an 'AMC' as Championship Manager would say

Kovac - 6 - after a good performance against Pompey, I thought he was a bit poor yesterday

Noble - 6 - see Kovac report, started brightly but faded in the second half

Behrami - 6 - lots of running, he's a good player but plays better when the team is doing well

Diamanti - 6 - hot and cold as usual but still for me out most threatening player on the pitch

Nouble - 5 - really struggled against the excellent Samba, needs to continue learning his trade

Zola/Clarke - 6 - could not un-lock the door Rovrs put in front of us

Anyway, onwards and upwards, hopefully a couple of new signings will shake things up, we'll know by 5pm tomorrow!

Benni Mccarthy agrees two year deal while Gudjohnsen starts medical...

According to Sky Sports this evening, Benni Mccarthy has agreed to a two and a half year deal and is just a doctor's cough away from signing for the Hammers.  Meanwhile, Eidur Gudjohnsen is hurrying him out of the cubcile to say 'ahhhhhh' and hurry up and sign a loan deal until the end of the season.

After watching tonight, it's clear that it is up-front where we lack quality and I like the way Gold and Sullivan have zoned in on this.  You may think it obvious, but there are other owners who would ignore such signs.  I welcome both to Upton Park, suddenly firepower is not such an issue and I hope that young Frank Nouble who put in another good shift tonight can learn a little refinement.

Wonder if Benni will make his debut against Blackburn on Saturday?!

Portsmouth v West Ham Preview

The Hammers have their first test since the partial takeover last week, and an important one it is too.  Fellow strugglers Portsmouth are the hosts, but the Hammers can take heart from our 2-0 victory over Pompey just a few weeks ago.   We also have other reasons to be cheerful, with the short term security of the club settled, whilst Pompey are still dealing with issues with wages and the prevention of any strengthening in the transfer window by the Premier League.

I believe it will now be too late to introduce a new signing to the line up tomorrow, even if we got one.  I hear the Mccarthy deal is likely to happen shortly, with Blackburn acknowledging our official bid but having an issue with Benni not turning up to training since Thursday.  I’m not convinced Beattie will happen, it’s more likely Rovers will pick him up as a replacement for Mccarthy.  Beattie would be a good match for the way Allardyce likes to play.  Still, let’s hope we can get him soon and can un-leash him against Rovers this Saturday!

Back to tomorrow then and good news that Carlton Cole is set to make the bench with his recovery going well.  Franco and Illunga are still out with Parker still struggling a bit with his hamstring.  Still, we know what a valuable player Scotty can be, so we may have to start with him.  Frank Nouble grew in stature against Villa and another away game may see him grow some more, I’ve every faith in starting him.

Green

Spector – Upson – Tomkins – Faubert

Collison – Behrami – Parker – Noble – Diamanti

Nouble

Bench:  Kurucz, Kovac, Stanislas, Da Costa, Daprela, Cole and Jiminez

Pompey picked up a couple of knocks in the Cup on Saturday and also have a couple of lads away for the Africa Nations, so there is no reason not to come back from  Fratton Park with a result.  I’m predicting a hard fought 1-2 victory for the Hammers with Nouble opening his account and Diamanti popping up with the second.  Come on you Irons!!!

End of an error...

Nigel Quashie has left the Hammers for QPR, nice to see Gold and Sullivan starting the clear out.  Quashie's eight appearances in four years will not be remembered with much affection.  If anything summed up the carelessness of the Icelandic age, this is it.  Confirmed on the official site.  Meanwhile, Josh Payne has also joined Wycombe on loan to get some first team football, good luck Josh, hope you get some games and start to push for the first team at Upton Park.

Hammers put life into dull transfer window

Well, there has not exactly been lots of interest so far in this month's transfer window, suggesting that belt tightening is going on at a variety of clubs.  Which I think makes it good news for the buyers, as clubs are desperate to recoup revenue they may have carelessly splurged in the past few years.

I'm not suggesting that Real Madrid are in that situation, but I am hearing interesting things about Ruud Van Nistelrooy coming to Upton Park.  I'm in two minds about this, an undoutedly quality striker, RVN has struggled with injuries of late and we don't really need to add to our medical woes.  But if the Hammers staff are confident he is fit then it would be a nice signing.  Feeling the same kind of way about Benni Mcarthy, his time to join us was a few years ago when coming from Porto, not necessarily now.  His time at Rovers appears to be at an end and again if he can stay fit, would be a nice addition.  The other rumours are Luke Young or Alan Hutton coming in as right back cover (or replacement for Faubert?).  Young would probably be my preference, as he is more defensive minded, Hutton likes to get forward in the same way Faubert does and I'm not sure there is a huge amount of difference between them, Hutton may be a slightly better defender.

Anyhow, definitely interesting times down the Boleyn and it's nice to be able to wonder about who is coming in, not who is going out!  More news as I get it...

West Ham United on Twitter

Well, it's been an incredible day, pretty historic if you are a Hammers fan.  For the first time we got an understanding of the state of the club and how close we were to some serious trouble and selling some key players.  At the same time, Sullivan and Gold have ridden into town, with Gold's links to adult entertainment leading some to call us 'Wrist Ham'.  Still, it's great to be smiling about the club rather than worrying if Parker and Upson are going to be in our nest starting line up.

One place that has been useful to find out what's been happening is on Twitter, so I thought I'd give you some useful twitter links of people to follow with regards to the Hammers, some informative, some fun...follow away....

http://twitter.com/westhamunited - my twitter!  Don't constantly update but definitely trying to get more active, please follow me!

http://twitter.com/tonyfernandes -second choice Tony may still have a role to play in the club and he likes to update on what is going on, keep an eye on him here

http://twitter.com/jamescollins29 - okay, so he is in the wrong claret and blue these days but he will always be one of our own, James Collins is a regular updater

http://twitter.com/iaindale - Politician and keen Hammers fan Iain tweets alot about the Hammers as well as politics

http://twitter.com/olasfanzine - official twitter of Gary Firmager from long time West Ham fanzine Over land and Sea

http://twitter.com/rustyrockets  - celebrity Hammers fan Russel Brand occasionally mentions the Hammers

Feel free to add any other hammers on Twitter in the comments section...

Watch the Gold and Sullivan Press conference online

You can watch it here courtesy of the BBC.......recommend you do, it's fascinating viewing...

Irons turn to Gold.....Zola must stay.....

Finally the deal has been done and David Gold and David Sullivan are the new de facto owners of West Ham United.  I’ve never really had a massive preference of any one of the interested parties over the other, all cloaked their deals in secrecy and we might never know what the other parties had to offer the club.  However, thus far, David Sullivan has made some interesting noises, including tears apparently and his heart certainly appears to be in the East End.

In the short term at least, the futures of Green, Parker, Cole and Upson should be secure and we may well see a signing or two come in.  Frankly, I feel we could stay up with the squad we have, provided no one leaves, but some additions and strength in areas would be welcomed.#

Sullivan has also apparently made assurances regarding Zola’s job and I certainly want Franco to remain in charge.  We had an un-doubted terrible start to the season and Zola takes some of the blame for this.  However, his football philosophy is the right one and the players all seem to want to play for him.  Spurs aside, our recent performances have shown some real character, with exciting young players such as Nouble and Daprela showing us the future is bright at Upton Park.  As Hammers fans, we want Zola to stay and be given a touch with a real transfer budget and stability behind the scenes.

So, welcome to Upton Park Mr Gold and Mr Sullivan, please look after our club, if you don’t, you will certainly be hearing from us.  But today feels like a good day, come on you Irons!!!

Hammers show fight with point at Villa

A very nerve-wracking 90 minutes there but the Hammers came through and I felt really proud of all the lads today.  We set out very nicely with a 5 man midfield which stifled Villa's usual quick passing way forward,  This was changed in the second half, forced by Kovac teetering on a red and protecting Parker but it worked in our favour as we exploited some tired Villa legs.

The credit runs throughout the team but the lads at the back, Mr Tomkins and Mr Upson were outstading, keeping the various Villa threats of pace and strength at bay.  In the middle of the park, no one especially shone but they all just worked really hard for each other to make for a solid unit.  Up front, Frank Nouble made his Premier League debut, he certainly has the strength and pace, just some composure on the ball and the ability to stop slipping over will see him develop well.

On with the ratings;

Green - 6.5 - some good saves unfortunately coupled with some heart stopping moments

Spector - 6 - did a tidy job for us at left-back

Upson - 8 - excellent game, commanded the back, ably assisted by....

Tomkins - 8 - a very mature and solid performance

Faubert - 7 - good game from our TGV

Collison - 7 - better game from Jack, tried to make things happen

Parker - 6 - was not into the full swing of the game and then taken off

Noble - 6 - little off the pace but still worked hard

Kovac - 6 - made himself busy and was unlucky with the yellow card

Behrami - 6 - not his best game but some good touches

Nouble - 7 - gets an extra mark for the fact he is young and making his league debut and gave his all

Subs:

Diamanti - 6 - good to see him come on and make things happen

Stanislas - 6 - make a good impression as an impact player

Zola and clarke - 9 - no doubt about it, they got it right today, well done lads.

Right, let's see the Gunners give Bolton a good stuffing and build up from this great result.  Up the Hammers!

Aston Villa v West Ham preview

With all the talk of takeovers, it’s hard to believe there is actually a football match this weekend, and an important one at that.  We’re live on Sky against the Villa and it will be interesting to see what momentum we have following the decent performances against Chelsea, Pompey and the Gunners in recent weeks.

While Villa are a very good side on a good run at the moment, I’ve got a funny feeling about getting a result here.  We may have to rely on some youth but mixed in with some experienced players, we can give them a good game.

Team news is a little vague from the club at the moment, message seems to be Franco and Illunga are the most likely to miss out whereas Parker and Noble are nearing fitness.  The boy Daprela certainly impressed at left back against Arsenal and Nouble deserves another run out, maybe away from home he will feel less pressure.  I still like the idea of giving Faubert a run in midfield, he can double up with Spector on Young and also offer an attacking threat.  I love Parker, but if he is not fit, let’s not risk him for this one, we have quite a few games coming up and i’d rather he was ready for a run rather than a few appearances.

Green

Daprela – Upson – Tomkins – Spector

Collison – Kovac – Behrami – Faubert

Diamanti

Nouble

Bench:  Kurucz, Jiminez, Stanislas, Da Costa, Payne, Parker and Lee

There is no doubt Villa are a tough proposition but they do occasionally blow a bit cold, if we can catch them on an off day, we can get a draw at least, I’m going for a 2-2 Sunday lunchtime thriller.  Sky Bet will give you 22-1 for that result and a free £10 bet when you bet £10, could be a nice return, bet below now....and come you Irons!