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Winning Ugly Is Beautiful

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Mon, 08/03/2021 - 23:41

It seems as if virtually every Hammers game of late has been a 'seminal' one, right back from the astonishing fight back from a 3-0 deficit away to Tottenham that left Jose Mourinho emotionally scarred. Having 'done the double' over Marcelo Biesla's beautiful team by winning 'ugly', David Moyes's team confirmed their place as genuine contenders for a place in European competition next season, the only question being whether it will be a champions League place, or one in the Europa League.

Now that the victory is out of the way, Leeds United can become West Ham fans' 2nd favourite team as a result of the inspiring and totally refreshing way they play the game of football, they are a breath of fresh air to the staid Barclays Premier League and long may their progress continue.

By all admissions, this was not a vintage David Moyes's West Ham performance, he was almost dismissive of his team's performance that nevertheless 'catapulted' them back into the top six, in fifth place. If Leeds had not had TWO goals disallowed within the first 5 minutes things might have turned out differently, however thanks to an appallingly struck penalty put in on the 2nd attempt by Jesse Lingard, who had had earned it thanks to an industrious run, his 4th goal in six appearances, and a towering 'Les' Dawson header Hammers emerged victorious in an ugly, but beautiful performance.

During the first few minutes when Leeds scored their two disallowed goals Hammers looked leggy following their nine days off, but after that they were industrious and committed to their manager's game plan, this was a resilient performance that highlighted just how much the 'new' David Moyes has influenced the club, from it's foundations, through to it's hierarchy.

David Moyes is a 'working class' manager who earns more in a week than many season ticket holders earn in years, however he just seems to 'fit' West Ham, he has had to win the fans over, and maybe playing behind closed doors at the London stadium might have benefited things, not just because of the lack of fans, but also because 'verbal' players like Craig Dawson can be heard by their team-mates.

On the 'note' of 'Les' Dawson, how badly must Watford be feeling knowing that 'Les' is contractually available to West Ham for a paltry £2.5 Million at the end of the season?

The team can only win the games that are in front of them, it is all that fans can ask for, the rest of it is down to fate and the lap of the Gods. - Ed

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Live West Ham v Leeds Line Ups

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Mon, 08/03/2021 - 19:03

West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Rice (c), Soucek, Benrahma, Lingard, Fornals, Antonio Subs: Martin (GK), Trott (GK), Johnson, Balbuena, Noble, Lanzini, Odubeko
Leeds: Meslier, Ayling, Llorente, Cooper (c), Hélder Costa, Phillips, Klich, Dallas, Raphinha, Roberts, Bamford Subs: Caprile (GK), Poveda, Alioski, Rodrigo, Harrison, Davis, Beradi, Jenkins, Huggins

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Biesla 'Spies' The 'Antonio Job'

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Mon, 08/03/2021 - 13:58

It is common knowledge that Leeds United's manager, Marcelo Biesla, is a stickler for his pre-planning and training specifically tailored against his team's next opponents, and apparently he has a 'cunning' plan set out in order to combat the attacking prowess of Michail Antonio, the scourge of many Barclays Premier League defenders.

When West Ham faced Aston Villa recently, David Moyes evolved a plan in order to cope with the undoubted talents of Jack Grealish, this involved Vlad 'the impaler' Coufal and Ryan Fredericks 'doing a number' on Villa's talisman, and to some degree they were successful, in fact Grealish was forced to swap sides of the pitch even to get a sniff of the ball in the match!

It is anticipated that Bielsa will task two of his defenders to mount a constant blockade against the Hammers striker, however Antonio, despite his troublesome hamstrings, is not Jack Grealish, each has their own unique abilities, but Antonio's physical presence is awkward and intimidating to opposition players, unlike Grealish, who has unfortunately earned the 'Jack Squealish' nickname due to his propensity for hitting the deck and rolling around after the slightest of contact, Antonio does NOT fall over.

In fact Big Mich is incredibly hard to push off balance, or to be prevented from retaining possession of the ball as a direct result of his strength and determination. Should Biesla choose to 'double up' on Antonio, which is a likely conclusion, he will do so at the risk of exposing the rest of the team that isn't on 'Ant duty', players like Jesse Lingard, Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen and Said Berahma are more than capable of exploiting the gaps left in the oppositions defence.

With all that said, tonight's game will most definitely be no walk over, to the neutral it will probably be very entertaining, but it will be a tense affair, it is to be hoped that the 'luxury' of having nine days off won't have had a detrimental effect on the team, and hopefully they will return invigorated by the break that had been afforded them due to the weird and wonderful scheduling of games. - Ed

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Moyes 'Ballsy' About Rice

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Mon, 08/03/2021 - 12:31

Ahead of what has increasingly become an essential game against Leeds United at the London Stadium this evening, Hammers boss David Moyes shed a little light on his aspirations for this season, and the unusual scenario he and his team now face.

"Having spent much of last season road mapping the way out of relegation and being concerned with other teams at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League, this season is like a breath of fresh air, looking at what is happening and where your team are with regards to being near the top of the league is far more enjoyable. We have a great bunch of boys playing for us, they play for each other on the pitch and that has been reflected by the positive results we have achieved so far. We can get better, and it is my intention to see the club progress, we will have the odd set back, but all in all I couldn't be happier with my players and their performances, although as I have said before, I think we can get even better".

Of course Moyes also had to address the usual 'elephant in the room questions' regarding Declan Rice. "Do we need the Champions League to keep Declan? No, because Declan is under contract first and foremost, so he can't go anywhere no matter what. I keep saying it and I hope people know that when I say something, I mean it. We've not had an offer for Declan Rice and I hope we don't get one. And you've got an idea now of where we'd need to be if it was even going to be considered. If we could finish in some sort of European position, it would be progress. And that would be progress for Declan Rice as well because he's been at West Ham while they've been bobbing around the bottom, so this is new for Declan as well. Declan seems very settled and in fact he is captaining West Ham; he plays for England. I want to keep Declan thinking that his ambitions can be achieved here at West Ham, and I will have to keep pushing that and keep pushing that with the owners as well."

Having seen their rivals leap frog them in the table, West Ham will be desperate to continue their good form against Marco Biesla's Leeds tonight, ahead of the trip to Old Trafford at the weekend. There are question marks over the fitness of both Fabianski and Randoplh, it is to be hoped that 'Fab' will have recovered from the training ground injury he sustained just before the Manchester City game.

Jesse Lingard will be tasked with 'running his heart out' tonight, due to the fact that he will be unable to play against his 'disparate parent' club at the weekend. Michail Antonio's 'hammies' have had a decent nine day break but he will be used sparingly bearing in mind the impending ManU fixture.

A win tonight would put Hammers firmly back in to one of the Euro qualification spots, defeat would be disastrous, and with Leeds no one knows what can happen, a nil nil draw is inconceivable though. - Ed

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Beware Bundesliga Blunders!

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Sun, 07/03/2021 - 10:39

News that West Ham are interested in signing 6'7" striker Sasa Kalajdzic for a 'bargain' fee of around £15 Million from Stuttgart, should be greeted with a fair amount of caution. Apart from potentially being the Barclays Premier League's replacement for the much loved Peter Crouch, the 23 year old Austria international possesses very good technique in a similar way to 'Crouchy'.

Of course Kalajdzic is just one of the many many strikers Hammers have been 'linked' with, the list is endless, and judging by the recent way David Moyes likes his recruiting to be done, there will always be a bit of 'positive' smoke and mirrors manoeuvring involved.

Why tell your competitors who your transfer targets are? It makes absolutely no sense, what is rather more sensible is to learn from past mistakes and feed others false information, much like Hammers lower placed North London rivals have done in the past, oh and Arsenal as well.

Hammers should avoid any more 'expensive' mistakes with regards to recruiting from the Bundesliga, it isn't just the Irons who have been severely 'burned' by the Bundesliga, if Hammers have been burned, then London rivals Chelsea, have been incinerated!

Opinion: David Moyes and West Ham should avoid players from the German League at all costs, UNLESS they arrive on a similar basis to that of Tomas Soucek and Saîd Benrahma, try to buy. It is simple, in this current financial climate West Ham simply cannot afford to make the type of 'big ticket' mistakes in the transfer market that have been sanctioned in the past.

Moyes seems to have adopted the same attitude to Hammers finances as a your local bank manager, fiercely holding on to the funding available as if it is his OWN money that he is authorising the spending of, and maybe that is the reason the normally incredibly 'gobby' hierarchy at the club have kept schtum, and why not? He is saving them an absolute fortune!

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but in David Moyes West Ham have a manager who knows most of them already, and quite probably a few that he hasn't been able to show for quite some time. - Ed

INJURY SPOLIER ALERT: Torn ligaments just 11 days out, Metatarsal injury 187 days out, Knee issues 25 days out, Syndesmotic ligament tear 108 days, Cruciate ligament 262 days, r/t Fitness 24 days...that is an eye watering 617 days out injured, jeez the guy is only 23! Do the maths, he made his debut in the 2017/18 season, and even being generous, that equates to an Andy Carrollesque set of injury stats, unavailable for over 46% of games! KEEP CLEAR MOYSIE!

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The Bubble Had To Burst

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 05/03/2021 - 10:39

Hammers lofty top four place in the Barclays Premier League was always going to be tenuous, and courtesy of some 'freak' scheduling, the Irons have been forced to look on as their 'elite' rivals make head way because the East London club have to wait until their next fixture against Leeds United on Monday the 8th of March, by which time several of their rivals will have played an astonishing THREE games more, meaning by the time David Moyes next sends out his 'troops' they could be in NINTH position before a ball is even kicked!

However, numbers are numbers, and being behind Everton, who are the only team to have played the same amount of games among the chasing pack, isn't necessarily a bad thing. As it stands, both the Toffees and the Irons have a game in hand, and are within six and five points respectively of 2nd place Manchester United and 3rd place Leicester City, and are within two points of fourth place Chelsea.

Chelsea are at home to Everton on the 8th, in the match that precedes the Irons encounter with Biesla's Leeds United by a couple of hours, so either Chelsea or Everton will drop points either way, and in keeping with the algorithm of a draw losing each team 1/2 point from the final analysis of the table, then Hammers fans will be hoping for draws all round, including the City v United game played on the 7th.

When the dust has settled on the flurry of this match weeks fixtures, the picture and task ahead of David Moyes will be much clearer as he attempts to steer the club to it's best finish in 35years. Bearing in mind the resources Moyes HASN'T had, even getting close to the top will have been an astonishing achievement, and depending on where the team eventually ends up in the Barclays premier League, Moyes may well find himself as a manager of the year candidate, not bad for the man who was so unceremoniously dumped by the club after his first tenure as manager when he saved the club from relegation.

It should also be remembered that David Moyes has actually rescued the club from relegation TWICE, once after Slaven Billic was given the heave ho, and the second time following the excesses and ultimate failure of Manuel Pellegrini. - Ed

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A Word To The Wise!

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 04/03/2021 - 10:49

Forums:

Non football, but very important...While we do our very best to ensure visitors have a 'good' viewing experience, we have to mention that no one is perfect, and that vcan apply to advertisers featured on the site. We go through pain staking efforts to ensure clients tow the line, but some get through the net.

Therefore we strongly recommend that vistors avoid any 'link' that appears offering a 'free or cheap I Phone, unfortunately there is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is definitely NO such thing as a FREE Iphone! At best you will be dissappointed, at worst you will end up "paying for postage" and compromising your security.

DO NOT follow this request, and if for some reason you do feel compelled to follow this type of link, you must ensure you only use PayPal, because these fraudsters, which is what they are. find it hard to get their ill gotten gains off of PayPal.

So, there you have it, to repeat...'There is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is definitely NO such thing as a FREE Iphone! - Ed

A Word To The Wise

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 04/03/2021 - 10:47

Non football, but very important...While we do our very best to ensure visitors have a 'good' viewing experience, we have to mention that no one is perfect, and that vcan apply to advertisers featured on the site. We go through pain staking efforts to ensure clients tow the line, but some get through the net.

Therefore we strongly recommend that vistors avoid any 'link' that appears offering a 'free or cheap I Phone, unfortunately there is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is definitely NO such thing as a FREE Iphone! At best you will be dissappointed, at worst you will end up "paying for postage"and compromising your security.

DO NOT follow this request, and if for some reason you do feel compelled to follow this type of link, you must ensure you only use PayPal, because these fraudsters, which is what they are. find it hard to get their ill gotten gains off of PayPal.

So, there you have it, to repeat...'There is no such thing as a free lunch, and there is definitely NO such thing as a FREE Iphone! - Ed

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'BBC'-Help Hammers

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 03/03/2021 - 22:48

The Blades, Burnley and Crystal Palace all helped West Ham's push for a top four spot by taking points of other top of the Barclays Premier League clubs. Aston Villa lost to 10 man Sheffield United, Burnley drew 1-1 with Leicester and Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Manchester United.

Villa's unexpected loss removes their game in hand from the equation, and Leicester's dropping of two points, and even also United's loss of points might still have some bearing of the final outcome of what will be a tightly contested top four shoot out.

Liverpool and Chelsea play each other tomorrow, and either way one of the teams will climb above the Irons irrespective of the outcome, and as the numbers and algorithms get more and more concertinaed as the final dozen match days occur, a draw would be the best outcome for David Moyes as he sets his team up for the tricky and possible seminal game against Bielsa's Leeds United.

Everton are the other club who can technically go above West Ham, they play the Baggies tomorrow as well, it is to be hoped that Big Sam can do himself and the Irons a favour by taking points off the Toffees.

Day 1 of the wait before Hammers next game, results have gone well, where the club will be in the League by the time the game kicks off against Leeds is anybody's guess, but at least results have bee kind so far, well done the 'BBC'. -Ed

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All Aboard The Rumour Train...

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Submitted by boogerscaravan on Tue, 02/03/2021 - 15:22

Forums:

So we are supposedly interested in buying Tammy Abraham and associated Smurfs this Summer. Ramsdale from the blunts in goal and maybe Saka from the Arse. Plus the Ivan Toney award from Brentford. Mmmm interesting............

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