A j at Tottenham
Forums:
Poor aj ,didn't he realise, nobody wins titles at Tottenham
.
Forum | General Discussion
Moyes To Use ManUtd 'B' Team For Rapid
We recently held a poll to see if David Moyes should use his 'Man Utd' 'B' Team to play against Rapid Vienna for Thursday evening's Europa League cup tie, the response was overwhelmingly YES! For the first and supposedly most difficult group, stage fixture against Dinamo Zagreb Moyes chose :Fabiański, Fredericks, Zouma, Diop, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Vlašić, Fornals, Lanzini, Antonio Subs: Areola (GK), Randolph (GK), Coufal, Johnson, Masuaku, Ogbonna, Dawson, Noble, Král, Benrahma, Yarmolenko, Bowen.
For the victorious Moose Cup tie at Old Trafford the Irons manager chose: Areola, Fredericks, Johnson, Diop, Dawson, Masuaku, Kral, Noble, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Bowen Subs: Randolph, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Fornals, Vlasic, Benrahma. Bowen and Benrahma both put a shift in at Leeds yesterday, Bowen also started the Moose cup tie on Wednesday evening, both players need a bit of a rest, particularly Bowen.
Coufal needs a break, but that will depend on Fredericks' recovery from injury, promising youth player Harrison Ashby is the only other option at right back, because Johnson would already be occupying the left back berth vacated by Aaron Cresswell. Thursday might just be the time to elevate Ashby to the main squad, albeit the 'glorified' B team!
Moyes can have Antonio and several other 1st team players on the bench in case things go belly up, as it is a home game it will not detract from those players' recovery time if they have to bench warm. Managing the squad and it's commitments is a challenge David Moyes seems able and willing to meet, how refreshing is that ?
You may need to pinch yourself to realise just how far the club has actually come since the days when the Undertaker that was Avram Grant was manager?
"We Go Again" Says Moyes
For years and years Hammers fans have gazed enviously at other clubs from the capital, as they progressed up the food chain, in Chelsea's case, or maintained their 'top club' status from the past inexorably. Arsenal were serial Champions League qualifiers and Tottingham did their best to actually win something without success.
Before fans smirk at the misfortune of Arsenal and to a lesser degree their neighbours, it should be remembered that the gulf in facilities available to those clubs as opposed to West Ham is the reason why it has taken so long for all three clubs to be on a level playing field.
The flip side of aiming to maintain a top six slot is the levels of expectancy and also the added commitments that success brings, initially Hammers faced a minimum of SIX Europa League group stage fixtures. Should the club successfully navigate the group stage, which it seems there is a good chance of, then the serious fixtures begin with the knockout stages which feature clubs that have dropped down from the Champions League.
After the Group stage there is a play off for those that finished 2nd in their group, then there is a round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and eventually the final to be held at Sevilla's Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in Spain.
Asked how his players will cope with the increased workload of playing the Europa League games, David Moyes responded by saying " It's a nice problem to have isn't it? he continued "We'll just go again, we have a great bunch of lads who will give it their all and play for each other, we have got some strength in depth, maybe not as much as I'd like, but we'll give it a go, we go again!".
Although Hammers have Champions League aspirations, it is important to remember just how far the club has come in the last 18 months, after the group stage there are only three games required to reach the final! As David Moyes so succinctly said " We go again". - Ed
Great Win At What Cost? Leeds 1-Irons 2
To the neutral this wasn an entirely enthralling encounter between Leeds and West Ham at Elland Road, however to those deeply involved, from either side, it was a roller coaster ride of high powered football and high pressure fit bit busting anxiety!
Elland Road is an old school stadium with the smallest pitch in the Barclays Premier League, an 'asset; that the home team exploit to the max in front of their loyal and occasionally vociferous fans. Hammers started brightly but Leeds soon began to impose their brand of 'murder ball', they ran Hammers ragged and were good value for their 1st half goal. Things did brighten up a bit towards the end of the 1st half, with Antonio making an absolute menace of himself and Fornals forcing Leeds' excellent 6'6"keeper Meslier to make a fine save, something he did throughout the entire game.
Second half, no doubt 'influenced by David Moyes and his support staff's half time 'chat' Hammers looked a completely different team and as the game wore on began to pressurise the home team into errors, mind you they were still lethal on the break!
Eventually something had to beat the home keeper, and it was a massive deflection that non plused him, fortunate for Bowen who's shot was going well wide. Initially the equaliser spurred Leeds forward as they sought to try and put the game to bed, unfortunately for them they simply ran out of puff!
Their tired players who made up a makeshift team due to a mass of injuries ran themselves ragged but eventually were undone by none other than Michail Antonio, beautiful finish, job done. Mikey's fifth goal this season was a joy to behold but as he said in his post match presser he was "Relieved" to get the three points and that the game was over "hard work" he continued.
This was a mega tough game from a physical and mental point of view, David Moyes' players put a lot of effort in, a hell of a lot of effort, Thursday's Europa League fixture against Rapid Vienna looms large, it will be interesting to see how Moyes approaches a game that is on paper against lesser opposition, but all the good work done against Zagreb will count for nought if there is a slip up against Rapid, he will have to balance his team selection carefully.
Great victory today, last minute winner AND other teams at the top dropping points, one joyous result being Manchester United's 2nd home loss in FOUR days, today's loss courtesy of a missed last minute penalty and of course Brentford's draw with the scousers.....Karma - Ed
Live Leeds V West Ham Line Ups
Leeds: Meslier, Dallas, Cresswell, Cooper (c), Firpo, Phillips, Shackleton, Klich, Raphinha, James, Rodrigo Subs: Klaesson, Roberts, Harrison, Gelhardt, Hjelde, Drameh, Summerville, Greenwood, McCarron
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio Subs: Areola, Johnson, Dawson, Diop, Noble, Král, Lanzini, Vlašić, Yarmolenko
Never Mind The Opposition-Who Ever They Are
Ahead of Hammers away game against Leeds today, there seems to have been an inordinate amount of coverage in the build up given to the fitness and availability of several key players for the home team. A day hasn't gone by without some news emanating from Elland Road about this player and that and whether they can make the 1st team.
Painful experiences of the past will surely have taught fans NOT to read too much into these 'snippets' for a couple of reasons, namely NO ONE gets anywhere near a 1st team without having earned the right, and no manager demands more from their players than Leeds' Marco Biesla. His famous training methods, referred to as 'murder ball' by his players, should be indicative as to what he demands from his team.
Consequently most of the coverage about who is and who isn't available to face West Ham, is vacuous to put it mildly. Whichever team Bielsa sends out will give it their all, Hammers will need to be on full alert as they try to cope with Leeds' frenetic fast paced game.
This fixture has added significance for David Moyes, a win or a draw will 'cement' Hammers upward trajectory towards being regular top six contenders, anything else won't be the end of the world, but it won't be the best of beginnings.- Ed
No more Arsenal Rejects Please-Lacazette!
In 2016 West Ham's then manager Slaven Bilic tried to sign Alexandre Lacazette, negotiations were protracted given the huge fee involved, as is so often the case Hammers tried to low ball the selling club and as a result another team pipped the club to the post evenytually.
A massive offer from the Irons of £42.7 Million was made for the Frenchman, this being only a couple of weeks after the club’s transfer record purchase of Andre Ayew. for £20.5 Million. Lacazette was 25 at the time and in his prime he was therefore very choosy as to where and when he would go, eventually after nearly a year of indecision he chose to join up with his compatriot, Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, for a fee of £46 Million.
Fair play to Lacazette for 'following his heart', as well as his wallet! The player has performed well for Hammers North London rivals over the years but now, at the age of 30 his contract has been allowed to enter it's final year without renewal.
Lacazette's availability has tweaked the interest of several high profile clubs, including Atletico Madrid and supposedly West Ham! Crystal Palace have also expressed an interest in acquiring the forward who reportedly earns an eye watering £183,000 per week at the Emirates, too rich for Palace and too rich for West Ham as well.
David Moyes does need a traditional number nine going forward in addition to Michail Antonio, who is currently the joint top ranked striker in all of Europe, but Lacazette represents a step backward and a path towards the retro thinking so beloved in the past by the Hammers board.
OK, he could be available on a free if he isn't suddenly offered a new contract by Arsenal, however he is 30 years old and on humongous wages, the only way David Moyes would sanction such a deal would be if the player took a 50% hit on his wages, Palace are so keen to show improvement under their new French manager that they will probably agree to stump up a ridiculous salary for Lacazette, EXACTLY what West Ham would have done in the past!
Under David Moyes the club has moved on from emergency 'band aid' signings, old player on big money always represent a risk, and for Moyes, Lacazette definitely represents a risk. Admittedly there is now a significant Gallic presence at the club in the form of Kurt Zouma and Alphonse Areola, as well French speaking Authur Masuaku and Said Benrahma. However the pluses don't outweigh the minuses of going for Lacazette, a fine player who might possibly do well at the London Bowl, but it is highly unlikely that he would be prepared to take the significant drop in wages that would be required.
If he does for some strange reason actually end up at the club by accepting a huge drop in his wages, then perhaps he COULD be an ideal signing, but it should also be remembered that he rejected joining West Ham not once, but twice before, and anyway hasn't the club had enough of signing other team's rejects? LN
The Sheer Arrogance Of Liverpool
Few writers will admit to it, but generally most sports writers spend the latter parts of their evening and earlier parts of their day 'trawling' for information from their sources, some are better known than others. They also check to see who has been cutting and pasting their articles.
One quick point of reference is the BBC's gossip column, which aggregates news stories regarding potential transfers and 'interest' shown by clubs in other teams players. This nicely innocent and quaint way of informing readers about what MIGHT be happening, is separate from their CONFIRMED transfer activity section and is often seen as a bit of fun.
Unfortunately, as with many other 'decent' things, the BBC's 'innocent' gossip page has become increasingly hijacked by media outlets that have pushed to be on the Beeb's 'safe list'. These outlets are essentially 'sleepers' until they are 'woken up' by their respective clubs.
There can be no finer example of this issue than today's 'nugget' provided by the Liverpool echo, Liverpool could still sign £20m transfer target, the sheer arrogance of the statement obscures it's inaccuracies. Their delusion being that they think ANY player would love to play at Anfield! Apart form the fact that the City is an absolute **** hole doesn't enter into their thinking.
The 2nd and most salient part of the 'deluded arrogance' evidence is the Echo's maths, why on earth would David Moyes and West Ham part with a player who is integral to the team? Then there is the small matter of the maths involved, obviously the script writers at the Echo were too busy doing other things when they were at school to o to their maths lessons
West Ham took a punt when buying Jarrod Bowen from Hull City for the not inconsiderable transfer fee of £24 Million, given his performances have earned him a fringe place in Gareth Southgate's England squad and his overall contribution for the club, that fee is now looking like a bargain.
Writers please note, IF you are going to write click bait stories, try to make them have some form of credibility! The 'massively' informed Echo article goes on to mention that Liverpool are 'circling' the player with a bid of £20 Million mooted! Do your maths and get back to nicking hub caps, £20 Million would be fine for Jarrod Bowen's left leg, the rest would cost at least another £40 Million!
The days of Hammers 'swooning' when a 'big' club like Liverpool comes a calling for one of our players are over, fans know it already, perhaps it is time for the Echo and a whole bunch of others to have a reality check and stop living in Martin Tyler land! - Ed
Sideshow Bob Excels On Debut
Alex Kral made his Hammers competitive debut at Old Trafford last night and didn't disappoint, he had big shoes to step in as effectively he 'carried' skipper Mark Noble through the match and played in the stead of his compatriot Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice.
Kral didn't put a foot wrong and looked entirely at ease and unfazed at Old Trafford, his match stats speak for themselves as he is proving to be yet another astute bit of business, indeed both he and fellow debutante Areola both arrived on a try to buy basis and on the current evidence both will have their loans made permanent.
Having back up, and dare we say competition, for the two slots that are owned by Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek is definitely a plus for the manager and gives him the option of resting either Rice or Soucek when they succumb to match fatigue as a result of the congested fixture list that comes with qualifying for Europe.
He may look like sideshow Bob, but Alex Kral is proving that his appearances for the Czech Republic during the Euro's were an apparition and he is actually a top top player, Hammers fans had best get used to his 'poodle hair' and flowing locks, because it will be HIM that replaces Declan Rice when he finally moves on to a 'bigger' club.
It is going to have to be a VERY big club, because there aren't that many clubs that currently have Hammers upwards trajectory. -LN
Pages
