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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, BenrahmaGenk: 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
Yarmo Interest-Bite Their Hands Off!
Andriy Yarmolenko cost Hammers £17.5 Million when he arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2018, he was given an astonishing four year contract at an eye watering £115,000 PER WEEK! What is truly amazing is that Yarmo already had a poor fitness record when he was signed, a fact that manifested itself only too quickly as the 'striker' was sidelined with an Achilles injury almost as soon as he arrived at the club.
All together the Ukraine striker has started just 16 Premier League games for West Ham in three years and three months, he has additionally been used as a late sub in 11 games and has featured in several peripheral cup matches as well. However the return for the massive financial investment in the player has been appalling, Yarmolenko has thus far cost the club £ 19,435,000 in wages alone, once you add his transfer fee of £17.5 Million the final ridiculous figure of £36,935,000 is arrived at, and it is still growing at the rate of £115,.000 per week!
Overall Yarmolenko has made 64 appearances and scored a paltry 10 goals in League and Cup competitions, that equates to an outrageous £3.69 Million per goal! YES nearly £4 Million smackers per goal, 'unbelieveabubble'!
Dynamo Kiev president Ihor Surkis has suggested that he will gladly sign West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko either in January or next summer. “There is no such agreement, but it depends on both parties. If Andriy has a desire, I will gladly give him the opportunity to end his career at his home club. I have great respect for what he did for Dynamo, and I consider him a very decent man”.
If Surkis means what he says, Hammers should bite his hand off before he changes his mind, or emerges from some kind of drug enforced stupor. After all, only a lunatic or someone devoid of any sense of purpose would be willing to undertake such a risky option wouldn't they? -Ed
Coufal Update Bad News
The news regarding Vladimir Coufal's injury is bad news for David Moyes, He is quoted as saying: “Vladimir has taken an injection, he had a bit of discomfort in his pubis. He has had an injection in there, he got the injury in the Man United cup game, and he has been carrying it for a few weeks.”
This update is extremely worrying as the injury is relatively non specific, Coufal is a key member of the first team and although Ben Johnson has deputised admirably, the sheer weight of impending fixtures risks burning the youngster out. Hopefully Ryan Fredericks can be fit enough, but with games coming up against Tottingham and Man City in quick succession Hammers normally tight defence will really be put to the test!
As we have repeatedly mentioned, Harrison Ashby is going to have to be drafted in to the squad as a back up sooner rather than later. Players of Ashby's age are regularly 'bloodied' on the continent, so why not utilise his undoubted talent, possibly beginning on Thursday evening against Genk? - Ed
Should Moyes Play Johnson Instead Of Cresswell For Genk?
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