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That's More Like It-Moyes
Hammers put in a spirited performance in today's hard fought and ultimately successful game against visitors Wolves who had been on a roll and were one of the form teams in the Premier League. Nerves were definitely 'jangly' initially as Moyes's boys set about reversing their recent poor run of results that had seen the club drop way out of the race for a top four finish.
As the game progressed and the crowd started to believe in the team, performances became far better than in recent games and Hammers put Wolves under the cosh for much of the first half. West Ham could have gone in one or three up by the time the half time whistle blew, Skipper Declan Rice's glorious effort clipped the post with the goalkeeper clearly beaten.
Although pleased with what they had seen, many fans were worried that the team would rue ALL the missed opportunities from the first half, and so it seemed, as Wolves started the 2nd half on fire forcing Hammers to defend deeper and deeper.
Mikey Antonio pushed his troublesome Hammies to the absolute max, with many expecting to hear them 'twang' as he relentlessly chased lost causes while also terrorising the Wolves defenders. When he was eventually replaced in the dying minutes, he could barely jog off as he received a tremendous ovation from an appreciative Stratford Stadium crowd that finally had something to cheer about.
THis was not the slick powerful Irons team from the beginning of the season, but it was a very good step in the right direction, the walk back along the canal to Hackney Wick was a much more pleasant experience than the trudge back after last week's thoroughly disappointing draw against the Toon. - LN
Adrian
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If your in a penalty shootout and you need a gk who can win it and if you can find him you can hire Adrian!!! well done chelski lol much as the final was a Hobsons choice i have a deep disliking for that bunch of plastics from West London....i doubt the shirts and hats will be out tomorrow morning! luv it...i so hope Adrian went over to Kepa and says i'll show you how it done
Live West Ham v Wolves Line Ups
West Ham: Fabianski; Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Fornals, Lanzini, Bowen, Antonio Subs: Areola (GK), Alese, Diop, Král, Perkins, Noble, Okoflex, Vlašić, Benrahma
Wolves: Sá, Kilman, Coady (c), Saïss, Hoever, Deconcker, Neves, Marçal, Trincao, Silva, Hwang Subs: Ruddy (GK), Aït-Nouri, Jonny, Boly, Moutinho, Cundle, Neto, Podence, Jiménez
Irons 'Right Up For It'-Rice
In the past prior to the second coming of he who some call the Moyesiah, West Ham United teams have always had the reputation of being incredibly consistant, in being incredibly inconsistent! Powder puff, Flakey, Soft Centred, you name it Hammers have been called all of these names and a lot more and rightly so.
Even with Moyes firmly at the Helm now, the club continues to baffle on occasions, beat Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottingham at home, but lose to Leeds and Brentford! Hammers form has dropped way off the pace of late but news emenating from the club's 'goose green' training ground is that ALL the players, the coaches and the manager have had a series of 'frank meetings' to help wipe away the International break induced cobwebs that have accumulated.
The loss of form as well as Kittygate has severely tested the bon hommie of the squad, but they have come through the other side as alluded to by Skipper Declan Rice. "Sometimes you need to sit down and take stock, look at the good as well as the bad and work out a plan to move forward, the Lads are absolutely buzzing about playing in the Europa Cup last 16 and look forward to giving it a real go under the lights. We have had a good week training and have been working on a few changes to freshen things up, we are still in the hunt for a high finish in the League and will be giving it our all on Sunday against Wolves, the Lads are right up for it!"
Defeat against 'high flying' Wolves would definitely extinguish ANY hope at all of Hammers attaining a Champions League place, although in all honesty that particular horse bolted as soon as the transfer window closed without any signings. Even top six is looking very challenging, but it can still be achieved which is actually pretty remarkable given the club's lack of strength in depth.
A win would keep the embers burning of a Champions League slot, but realistically Hammers ARE NOT a Champions League team! If someone had offered fans progression through to the League Cup 1/4 finals by beating Manchester City AND Manchester United, qualifying for the Europa League last 16 by topping their group, still being in the FA Cup AND being near the top of the Premier League for most of the season, those fans would bite their arms off!
it is a pity that what might have been wasn't fully taken advantage of, but a good committed performance in front of a packed Stratford Stadium would do wonders for the club ahead of going into a hectic week that includes Wednesday's visit to Southampton in the FA Cup, followed up by the trip to Anfield that could well decide the Premier League title! - ED
Antonio needs Benching
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Totally out of form and giving us nothing right now.....he needs his backside kicking and a few others to Soucek way off it as well but i wonder if Moyes got Dec to sit deep for a game or two whether we would see Soucek come to the fore once more...the one decent game he had of recent times was Watford away when Dec was suspended suddenly we saw the old Soucek so maybe a tweak there could spark things off again...Of course neither of these will happen but its something i think Moyes needs to think about as he continues to fail in getting the team to play as they were earlier this season.
Real 6 Pointer At Least!
West Ham take on Wolves this Sunday knowing anything other than a victory will all but spell the end of Hammers slim chance of making the Champions League via a top four finish. In truth that top four 'dream' faded and died ages ago, only to be replaced by far more realistic top six aspirations, unfortunately even top six is now looking precarious which is why Sunday's game really IS a genuine six pointer, the ramifications of the result will be felt far and wide and could act as either a spring board or a final nail in the coffin for European qualification.
Of course Hammers ARE still in the FA Cup AND the Europa League last sixteen, however incredibly in form Southampton are the Irons opponents in the FA Cup, while serial winners Sevilla are the club's opponents in the Europa League Cup. Neither of these teams will be easy to beat by any stretch of the imagination, however at least the Sevilla games are away and at home, so there is every chance of a barnstorming finish under the lights at a packed Stratford Stadium.
Hammers always seem to be able to find something to pull out of the hat for the big 'occasions', it is going to have to be some hat if the team want to have even a glimpse of Silverware this season, or a hope of competing at the highest level next season.
Neither the manager, his staff nor his players will be under any illusions as to the task ahead of them, but at least they still control their own destiny to a certain extent. Sunday represents an ideal opportunity to get things back on track, however IF the players don't give their absolute ALL, then the season will continue to derail and eventually unravel.
Sunday is a 'REAL' six pointer at least, the game will be a cliff edge and the result of which will last! - Ed
Missing Irons-Does It Matter?
Hammers go into Sunday's vital game against Wolves devoid of several players, most notably Angelo Ogbonna who is out for the rest of the season and Vladimir Coufal who has just had a successful operation to fix his troublesome groin injury.
Some media outlets have suggested that the club are without several other 'stars', namely Authur Masuaku who has been sidelined yet again with knee issues and Ryan Fredericks who somehow managed to injure his groin during the 45 woeful minutes he played against Newcastle.
Hammers have also given Andriy Yarmolenko 'compassionate leave', as he struggles to deal with seeing his homeland invaded by the Mad Monk. A decent gesture of solidarity by the club, but in actuality hardly a great sacrifice as Yarmo has been no more than a bit part player for the last couple of seasons.
So to say David Moyes will be missing Fredericks, Masuaku and Yarmolenko is technically correct, however NONE of them, with perhaps the exception of Authur Masuaku on a good day, are a great miss. Indeed some would say that they are ALL liabilities who just occupy spaces on the bench that could and should be taken up by members of the U-23 and Academy teams.
The presence of Fredericks, Masuaku and Yarmolenko on the bench hardly strikes fear into the opposition does it? At least youngsters like Ashby, Chesters, Perkins and Okoflex are fresh, full of energy and more importantly unknown to opposing teams.
The aforementioned are ALL capable of making the step up, however and perhaps unfairly there those who will be overjoyed with the absence of Yarmolenko on the bench. The player just seems to represent the past and is hardly inspiring when he lumbers on and strolls around for what ever amount of minutes he has been given at the end of games.
Yes Moyes IS without the services of some highly paid individuals, but does the team really miss them? LN
Irons Get Europa 'Death' Tie
Ahead of the draw for the last 16 of the Europa League Cup, many Hammers fans were hoping for an 'easy' fixture if not a plum tie against Barcelona, unfortunately they got neither, instead being drawn against serial winners Sevilla. Despite trying to put a brave face on things, this was the absolute WORST possible outcome, leaving dreams of attending the final in tatters.
At this point we would usually find some form of recompense, but there is NONE to be had Hammers might have been drawn against Rangers which would have been difficult, but nowhere near as much as the 'death sentence' of being drawn against Sevilla who have won the UEFA Europa League six times, the most of any club!
It will be interesting to see how much money the club will charge for tickets now the opponents are known, Seville are the favourites to win the competition for a record SEVENTH time, meaning it will take a herculean effort for Hammers to progress, that and a whole heap of luck.
The prices for the fixture would have been cranked up if the opponents were Barcelona, we would even have purchased a dreaded 50/50 scarf along with plenty of others to commemorate playing at the Camp Nou. At the end of the day teams have to play the best to win, simple as that, it is what it is and now David Moyes and his staff have to try and do what no other team has done in nearly a decade, that is to wrestle the Cup from the Spanish team's hands.
It is NEVER easy being a Hammers fan, but did you seriously believe the club would be handed anything other than the most difficult tie in the draw? - Ed
Vlad Op Explains All
Ever since being injured as the result of an unpunished off the ball tackle by Manchester United's Juan Mata back in November, Hammers all action defender Vlad 'the scourge of Grealish" Coufal has struggled to regain the type of form he displayed last season that had fans and pundits claiming that he was the best right back in the Premier League.
The final nail for Vlad came when he had to be substituted half way through the Leicester game, having been comprehensively 'skinned' on numerous occasions by James Maddison. Vlad looked so far off the pace it was feared that he had been stricken with a severe bout of 'illungaitus', an illness that makes a once brilliant footballer suddenly lose a yard of pace!
However it has now been revealed that Coufal has undergone a “successful” operation on the long standing groin injury he had been trying ti play through. On Thursday Hammers confirmed Coufal’s operation. A club statement read: “The 29-year-old defender has been troubled by an ongoing problem and, following specialist consultation, underwent an operation in London on Thursday morning.” Club head of medical Richard Collinge said: “Vladimir’s surgery went exactly as planned and he will begin his rehabilitation at Rush Green immediately.”
It is not clear how long Vlad will be out of action, but Ben Johnson is set to compete with Ryan Fredericks for the right back spot in the Czech International's absence. West Ham host Wolves on Sunday in a crucial game that will decide which club stays in the race for a Euro slot, things don't look too rosy as things stand, but then for some weird reason Hammers always seem to perform better when under duress.
We wish Vlad a speedy recovery and hope he returns to 'maraud' down the flanks as we have become accustomed to. LN
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