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Are we Franchise United?

Dartford Bhoy's picture
Submitted by Dartford Bhoy on Mon, 05/12/2016 - 14:07

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So, after the humiliating result against Arsenal just what exactly is going wrong at West Ham? Allow me vent my spleen and share my experiences and thoughts.

As usual I was at game at some considerable cost in terms of monies spent on season tickets, travel, food, drink etc and in time, each home game takes me over two hours door to door.

The day starts with a drink, our watering hole of choice is the Bat N’ Ball in Westfield where you que up to get in, have to show your ticket to the bouncer, pay over the odds for a pint in a plastic glass, actually it’s not a pint as they always deliver half measures which I guess is in keeping with the football I will injure later. The door staff I guess are an necessity to avoid trouble between rival fans but a smile or even a welcome would be appreciated besides, Im paying top dollar for this half measure.

The walk to the stadium is a mess, I can’t go direct through Westfield and have to shuffle back to the station and be herded the long way to the LS. At the stadium the stewards carryout the worst checks ever experienced, sloppy to say the least and these guys would never get a job at Heathrow. But, its lovely to know they are footie fans, unfortunately they support Arsenal…. Yes, I said Arsenal, don’t believe me? Check out Arsenal TV. So, can this also be connected to the troubles with the Sit Down Stand Up brigade and the heavy handed approach by the clowns in florescent jackets?

Inside the ground we have time to que for another beer at a more reasonable price. Take our seats in the Trevor Brooking stand, have a fab view and surrounded by really lovely people who already feel like family. We are West Ham dyed in the wool and normally full of optimism although after the reality of OT we are a little apprehensive. I share with them my bets for the day, always long odds on first goal scorer, Oggy and Mussy at 100 to one.

Game starts and already we are under the cosh, tragic error by Oggy and we are one down but by half time, this could have been more thinking Wenger will be the most upset given the chances missed. The second half needs no comment apart from a moment when a ball boy throws the ball not to a West Ham player but basically yards in the wrong direction. We laugh, that is until we then see on Twitter OUR ball boys having a selfie after the match with Cazola, all smiles. Don’t believe me… hit the web. So again, we have more Arsenal fans in the club?

At 5-1 down we are still sat there in a now rather empty stadium, accept the Gooner section, with minutes left. Heads are down and we look second best in all departments.

Crowning glory for the day is the trudge back to Stratford but this time we are stopped half way to allow a few hundred Arsenal supporters priority on the road. Thousands of Hammers fans stopped and like mugs we accept it but not for me, this is the straw that broke the back when a mild mannered, short fat 57 year old flipped! I gave these clowns full barrel and guess what, lots of other people also made the their thoughts know and abracadabra we got the priority!

Back to the first comment, whats going wrong? On the pitch, plenty but manly attitude which according to Slav is even seen in training! Off the pitch, behind the scenes there is a rift between Slav and the playing staff. The injuries don’t help but the last transfer window, apart from Fletcher, was shocking business. Dimi is not bothered, so let him and many others go. Make Lanzini skipper and build a team around him! As for the Bowl of Misery, either buy it out right or rebuild.

UP is gone, our homeland is gone, Stratford has no links to West Ham United, the locals don’t like football or prefer Arsenal, we have no home, remember we only have rights to the stadium for 19 days in 365 unless we have cup games. The heart and soul has been ripped out of our club, time to admit we were sold a pup and its time to make a noise because I feel the anger brewing that will make the Bond Scheme look like a kids party. The Holy Trinity will eventually sell and Baroness Branded Brady will swan off into the sunset leaving us to support Franchise United, wanderers of East London!

theres hope

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 04/12/2016 - 10:09

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carrolls back. we all wonder how long for but if he can have a good run the team will transform imo. payet and lanzini will get the knockdowns and he will pose a threat to defences. imo bilic waited far too long to bring him on and at 2-0 prob shouldnt have bothered.

Leicester

andycarrollstyle's picture
Submitted by andycarrollstyle on Sun, 04/12/2016 - 09:55

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Going through a similar turmoil to us, albeit they are still in the Champions League - Leicester, another club who dared to dream and won the League last season, don't sit far off from the bottom of the table and are only a point above us. We thought the 'big clubs' would come back stronger this season after last years 'freak' result but so far whats surprising is how quickly it looks like things have gone back to how they were before - Liverpool, Spurs, playing well but dont feel they are gonna win the league, top three will be united, city and Chelsea. With our squad you would think mid table should be achievable, yes we have had injury setbacks and poor signings but the team should still be able to get a result. Leicester - despite losing Kante still have Vardy and Mahrez too but have failed to win games. Is this the price we pay for having a good season and making progress in the league - to crash and burn the year after? I dont think things will ever change - we may make small steps or inprovements or make big changes like the OS move but at the end of the day it seems like we will never be able to compete with the big boys because unless you are changing your manager or splashing out on record transfers each window you are dead in the water.

The west ham flirtation with the big boys

Burkie 1's picture
Submitted by Burkie 1 on Sun, 04/12/2016 - 08:17

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I like so many west ham fans i looked foward to this season so much in fact i couldn't wait for the summer to be over ,after last years brilliant performance i was thinking maybe just maybe a top four place everything seemed to be in place ,a massive new stadium ,lots of new signings (if we only new ) there seemed to be a much healthier outlook all round ,but three months in and the wife keeps asking me "what the matter love " she says theres been a real change in my mood and do you know what she's right ,after one of these cloberings i wake up in the morning and like every nightmare you slowly come to terms with it and it slips away from your consciousness but with our beloved west ham in this septic tank im in a bad mood for the rest of the day ,
I, like a lot on here have been following the club for half a century it had become my identification i fully expected that when my time on this mortal coil was up my casket would have my west ham shirt drapped over it ,you see i dont have many hobbies i like to tinker about in the garden but thats about it my greatest enjoyment was watching west ham on the box and the occasional trip to uppers where by the way the atmosphere was palpable especially on a cold winters night with the lights on ,sure we were in trouble lots of times but that was all part of the deal ,we were a family club from the east end our goal was maybe one day a top four finnish but if it didnt happen then what the f**k we were happy with mid table ,i remember those majic decades the 70s ,80s and 90s when we were every other clubs supporters favorite second team ,sure we were relegated e few times (that time under Roeder 2002 ) but that was par for the course we knew we'd be back after a couple of seasons ,it was all part of the hunt ,but now their turning uppers into a block of flats or a car park and the bulldozers are breaking up the place and breaking our hearts ,the three business people wanted more ,they saw us completing with the big four in the premiership and having great encounters with Real Madrid and Barca .
But now im afraid i will soon have to stop watching my beloved west ham for the same reason i gave up watching and listening to the news every night ,far to depressing

Bilic is going to walk pretty soon

Submitted by Barrie Fowler on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 21:35

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I really think looking at Bilic and his body language the guy is close to quitting and here's why:
For a manager to openly accuse his players of not training properly simply means their not performing for him and once that happens your on a slippery slope.
I like Bilic and I think most of the West Ham fans feel the same way but he is being let down badly by most of his players who are being paid buckets full of money to play in one of if not the top league in the world, for them not to be training and playing to the best of their ability is an absolute disgrace.
If Bilic is unable to get them to play at the level required then it is time to go.
This guy is being exploited because he is an easy going, maybe we need someone who will kick their overpaid arses and clear out all the dead wood.

what is going on with hammers tv

albyforeverirons.'s picture
Submitted by albyforeverirons. on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 18:38

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it says (Enjoying the game? Please help to keep Hammers tv alive.) then you click on and its audio only and a popup at the top says this is not hammers tv but mob using this stream and West Ham cannot be held for what is shown. for fxxxx sake its either hammers tv or its not. no wonder its going tits up when even our own stream isn't our own.

West Ham United v Arsenal FC Confirmed Team Sheets

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 16:24

West Ham : Randolph, Reid, Ogbonna, Collins, Masuaku, Noble, Obiang, Fernandes, Lanzini, Payet, Fletcher. Subs: Adrian, Nordtveit, Arbeloa, Feghouli, Carroll, Zaza, Ayew.
Arsenal: Cech, Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Xhaka, Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis. Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Holding, Ramsey, Elneny, Iwobi, Lucas.

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West Ham v Arsenal Preview

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 14:32

Slaven Bilic hopes the return of Andy Carroll can revitalise West Ham’s attacking play by rediscovering the power that put Arsenal to the sword last season
Carroll has been sidelined for three months with a knee injury, in which time West Ham have found themselves battling at the bottom of the league table at least partly because of the failure of their strike force to find the back of the net. Diafra Sakho scored the first league goal by a West Ham striker last week against Manchester United
the Senegal international has since been ruled out for six weeks with a hamstring injury. Young forward Ashley Fletcher found the net in midweek but both of Bilic’s major summer striking imports, Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri, are yet to fire, in fact they are yet to smoulder even!
The pressure is on the shoulders of one injury plagued Andy Carroll
he enjoyed one of his best games for West Ham last season when he scored an eight-minute hat-trick in a 3-3 draw at home to today's opponents Arsenal, Carroll will need to be at his best bearing in mind Cresswell, Antonio and Sakho all sustained injuries during the EFL Cup defeat at Old Trafford on wednesday night!
“He is one of the reasons, along with Dimitri Payet, why we were so prolific last season in front of goal, why we were so versatile and, at end of the day, why we scored so many goals and finished so high in the table,” Bilic said.
“We had spells when he played a few games for 90 minutes,” he went on. “We also had spells when he made an impact from the bench and this was especially the case against Arsenal. It was basically him who brought us back in that game. The whole team had one of the best 45 minutes of last season then and that’s what he’s capable of.”
Punters and bookies alike are unsure as to how the game will pan out, but there are good odds to be found on this game. If you're uncertain, the smart choice is to opt for a free bet offer like William Hill's, where you bet a small amount and get a free bet to help you back multiple outcomes and give you a better chance of winning.. Authur Masuaku will come in at left back and the long lost Arbeloa is being rumoured to make a surprise cameo appearance at right back, although Fernandes can also slot in to that position, elsewhere Dimitri Payet may start on the bench due to a slight niggle picked up midweek however Slaven Billic could risk him from the start due to his team's perilous league position. Billic is also almost definitely going to retain Darren Randolph in goal ahead of Adrian, and Reid ahead of the ginger Pele.
The BBC feature an article where Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he does not like to use Francis Coquelin at right-back as the Frenchman does not have the physiological profile to fit into that role. The Gunners are short in that position with injuries to Hector Bellerin and Mathieu Debuchy, with the latter injuring his hamstring against Bournemouth after less than 20 minutes on the pitch. Gabriel has since been put into that role and is likely to start against West Ham, with Carl Jenkinson having started against Southampton in their 2-0 loss in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup in mid-week but was relentlessly criticised by Arsenal fans and has been a recipient of a huge amount of internet 'trollling' about his poor performance against the Saints. Coquelin is expected to start in midfield alongside Granit Xhaka or Aaron Ramsey, with Mohamed Elneny uncertain with a stomach bug he picked up earlier this week. Arsenal do have a Champions League fixture against Basle in midweek but as they have already qualified for the next stage Arsene Wenger is unlikely to rest any of his top players for this evening's match. - Ed

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gooners ahead and more injury woe

mcbikeman's picture
Submitted by mcbikeman on Fri, 02/12/2016 - 14:31

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well it just does not get any better for us cressy/Antonio out for tomorrows game...arsenal fans will be rubbing there hands with glee.....if our players had all been fit I thought we would win but with those two out sakho as well payet seemingly lack lustre and no forwards to think of it is going to be an agonising watch...when will our luck change?

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