westhamfans.org

Despite the obvious disappointment of losing 1-0 to much disliked London Rivals Tottenham at the London Stadium, many Hammers fans are relishing the 'bigger picture' and confirmation that at last the club has a centre back pairing every bit as good as the Ginger Pele and Winston Reid when in their pomp.

West Ham United: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Noble, Snodgrass, Yarmolenko, Arnautovic, Anderson. Subs: Adrian, Fredericks, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Dianang, Antonio, Perez.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies, Dier, Winks; Son, Eriksen, Moura, Kane. Subs: Lamela, Wanyama, Walker-Peters, Llorente, Gazzaniga, Davies, Skipp.

The Barclays Premier League is essentially made up of three groups of teams, the Best, the Next best and the Best of the Rest, Tottenham are probably up in the Best and West Ham are currently in the Next best category, but these assesments can change quickly, for example a victory on Saturday at the london Stadium would propel the visitors well up in the Best of teams stakes, whereas as a similar result for the home team would reinforce their position in the Next best league table slots.

The Media to like to 'big up' the 'massive' rivalry between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, but historically this has not always been the case. Geographically Arsenal have always been Tottenham's closest rivals and so it was on the pitch for many years back in the day. West Ham's closest top flight rivals as the crow flies before the move to the London Stadium were Crystal Palace and achieved similar success, or lack of it, as West Ham, from an Irons fans view the other rivals were Chelsea and of course Millwall!

Bearing in mind there are two fixtures against Tottenham at the London Stadium within the space of eleven days it would be foolish not to concentrate on the potential match outcomes as well as the usual rivalry between both sets of fans. We are fortunate to be able to feature a view from the opposition courtesy of spurs for life we are reciprocating with a view from the opposition from a West Ham fans point of view.

West Ham United have a dreadful history with regards to players returning from international duty having picked up bad injuries, fortunately it appears that the medical team will be able to concentrate on getting the long term injured fit rather than having to address new issues with the exception of Arthur Masuaku who has been sent home from the DR Congo camp with what is described as a very minor ankle injury.

Telford Homes has halted works on its redevelopment of Wallis Road’s Stone Studios following complaints over the release of noxious fumes from its Hackney Wick construction site. Local residents and the principal of the near by Mossbourne Academy have complained about the side effects from inhalation of toxic fumes, including headaches and nausea.

Robert Snodgrass is hopeful of making a quick return from injury, to boost West Ham squad.
West Ham United received a major boost ahead of their Premier League encounter against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, October 20th, as their newly appreciated winger Robert Snodgrass seems hopeful of making it to the final squad, despite having had to pull out from the Scotland squad because of an injury.

The International break is usually accompanied by a reeking of fetid rumours about players and their clubs, there 'leaks' are invariably driven by agents keen to see some action for their clients, because of course action results in the agent getting their hands on even more commision. Not all agents are devisive and some perform very well for their clients, but it is difficult to give much creedance to many of the comments attributed to players as that have actually been 'sourced' via quotes from agents rather than from the players themselves.

Declan Rice is not the only West Ham United player who is subject to an International 'tug of war', Rice is entitled to play for either The Republic of Ireland or England, his fellow young defender, Issa Diop, is entitled to play for France, Senegal or Morocco! Diop was born in France to a Moroccan mother and Senegalese father and has played for France at youth and U-21 level, he also scored France's final goal as they beat Italy 4-0 to win the 2016 European Under-19 Championship.