Forum | General Discussion
Hammers Home Hoodoo Hope
Statistics are always subject to interpretation and in West Ham's case they are indeed confusing when examined. David Moyes side currently have the best joint away record in the Barclays Premier League, have won all their Europa League games handsomely and top their group, but the elephant in the room is the team's home form in the League.
One win, one draw and two defeats indicate the form of potential relegation candidates! Of course that isn't going to happen, but it is a worrying statistic and one that cannot be blamed on the fans or the Stadium, because the results have been superb in European competition.
Sunday derby represents an ideal opportunity to put things right, Tottenham rested their entire first team for their 'Paint trophy' Cup game during the week, so they are definitely taking the fixture seriously. Some people are suggesting this game is Tottingham's 'final', similar accusations were made against West Ham in times gone by, how things have changed!
Any 'legginess' Hammers players might have felt as a result of playing against Genk, will vaporise when confronted with a London derby against a team that has enjoyed every issue and problem ever experienced by West Ham. It is time for a new order in the Capital, David Moyes has 'lined his team up to neatly nestle as close to Chelsea as possible.
Hopefully Hammers' home hoodoo will end tomorrow, it won't be the end of the world if the result isn't positive, but it would be nice to go into the 'Lion's den' fixture against all conquering City on the back of a good result. Ed
Thank You For Your Vote
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Thank You For Your Vote
Friday night music night
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Just some great songs from yestayear feel free to ad
Issa Gonna Be 'Aller Tout Droit'
Last night's comprehensive UEFA Europa League cup victory over Genk gave fans a further glimpse of two thirds of West Ham's back line French triumvirate that could be in place for years to come, as Alphonse Areola kept a clean sheet behind a defence superbly marshalled by Issa Diop, and 'Les' Dawson. Diop is now showing signs that he is rekindling the stunning form he showed when he first arrived at the London Bowl!
It should be remembered that Diop is only 24 years of age and has the best part of his career ahead of him, the prospect of Issa, Alphonse Areola and Kurt Zouma forming Hammers French back line is mouth watering and does smack of other teams past 'romances' with Gallic players, but so what?
The fact that both centre backs scored with headed goals won't have gone unnoticed by opposing teams, they are already mindful of the proliferation of Hammers set piece successes. It didn't go unnoticed by the fans who packed the London Bowl last night, the atmosphere of which was similar and dare we say on a par with nights under the lights at the beloved Boleyn ground.
When he signed for the club, Kurt Zouma joined up with the already prominent 'French Speaking Connection' of Alphonse Areola, Said Benrahma, Issa Diop and Authur Masuaku. Fitting in was definitely not a problem, however it is rumoured that he could not and cannot understand a word when Mark Noble rolls out the french phrases he learned while 'fishing' with Dimitri Payet!
Seeing Joe Cole nearly exploding with joy on BT Sports coverage showed that (a) he loves the club a load more than some other high profile ex-Hammers and (b) he believes this is the start of something really special, "Hammers Aller Tout Droit' -Straight Ahead!
Tottingham up next at the Bowl, hopefully Moyes and his boys will be able to put to bed the club's unwelcome current Barclays Premier League home record, which is far exceeded by what is the joint best away record in the entire league! Oh and of course, after Totttingham comes to small matter of taking on the perennial winners of the Carabou Cup, Manchester City! - Ed
Haller
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Can anyone enlighten me about what's going on with this guy ?,22 goals in 31 games for ajax ,including 6 in the champions LG, top scorrer in the champs LG with 6 ,is he taking the piss or what .
Live West Ham v Genk Line Ups
West Ham: Areola, Johnson, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Vlašić, Bowen
Subs: Fabianski, Randolph, Fredericks, Ashby, Masuaku, Zouma, Ogbonna, Noble, Fornals, Chesters, Benrahma
Genk: Vandevoordt, Preciado, Cuesta, Lucumi, Arteaga, Heynen (c), Thorstvedt, Hrosovsky, Ito, Bongonda, Onuachu
Subs: Chambaere (GK), Leysen (GK), McKenzie, Sadick, Tresor, Toma, Geusens, Eiting, Ugbo, Oyen, Paintsil, Nemeth
Spuds preparing for their cup final
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By not having one first team starter in there Europa conference game...LOL spawny C**ts they are bricking it.....mouthy spud gits all quiet now big club my arse we no what they are!!
£10.8 Million For Antonio? Try Adding A Zero!
The valuation of professional football players has always been a bit of a mystery, none more so than in the case of West Ham's Michail Antonio. According to transfer market Antonio is valued at £10.8 Million, at that price Hammers should snap him up!
Antonio is 31 years old and does have a suspect injury record, but his goal to games ratio and overall contribution to the team make him priceless, so the £10.8 Million valuation seems a bit far off the mark, especially when looking at how much Andriy Yarmolenko has cost the club, currently just under £38 Million and rising by £115,000 every week.
Yarmolenko's goals have so far cost a staggering £3.69 Million each! Using that equation, if Antonio scores 12 goals per season for the next three years he would be worth £132.84 Million! Of course these numbers are just stats, but it does show how invaluable Antonio is to the club. In fact Antonio's aim is to score a whole load more than 12 per season, aiming at the lofty heights of 20.
£10.8 Million for Antonio? Try adding another nought at the end, but don't be surprised if Newcastle come in with a ludicrously high bid for the Tooting flyer in January! - Ed
Moyes To Tread Fine Line Tonight
Hammers fans have historically dreamt of having the sort of 'fixture congestion issues' that now face the club, not since the halcyon days of 1964-1966 has the club been actively pursuing success on FOUR different fronts! Of course with achievement comes responsibility, that particular burden rests on the shoulders of David Moyes who, much like the club, is enjoying an invigorating renaissance at the London Bowl despite operating with a metaphorical hand tied behind his back due to the chronic lack of funding at his disposal.
Crowded Schedule?
Tonight's UEFA Europa League cup game against Genk is the first of a triple header of home games, it is swiftly followed by the Barclays Premier League derby against Tottingham on Sunday and then the Carabou Cup game against all conquering Manchester City the following Wednesday. There is no respite after the three home games, because the team then travel to Aston Villa on the Sunday, that's an astonishing FOUR games in only TEN days!
Things don't get that much better in the next week as Hammers have to play the away Europa Cup game against KRC Genk on November the 4th, followed by the Barclays Premier League game at home to Liverpool THREE days later! So Moyes's team(s) will have to play a total of SEVEN games in only 17 days, quite an ask from a wafer thin squad, isn't it?
There are some who might say "they are paid a fortune, why can't they play so many games in such a short space of time?", whereas there may be others, admittedly now long in the tooth, who remember when Hammers could have won the League in !985/6 had it not been for a ridiculous fixture pile up caused by the 'once in a lifetime winter of that year.
So in a way David Moyes only has to really think about who NOT to play in each game, Michail Antonio being the only bona fide striker obviously needs 'game management' and will therefore be used as sparingly as possible, as should Declan Rice and one or two others.
Moyes will need to tread a fine line between cause and effect and commitment, it's a long old season, especially with the added workload of the European competition, but it is a problem fans have waited an awful long time to experience, let's hope the experience is not awful by the end! - LN
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