Forum | Non-Football Related

Vlad The Impaler Coufal has just spoiled Manchester City's £100 Miilion signing Jack Grealish's weekend.
Signing a new three year deal with an option for a further year with West Ham United, means he will repeatedly be able to renew the players' acquaintance. Grealish's 'experience' at the hands, or more literally the feet, of Vlad left the poor lad emotionally scarred last season at Villa Park, especially when he tried to make the Hammers defender jump by feigning a head butt towards him, Coufal's withering 'is that all you've got?' look was a sight to behold and left Grealish looking like a powder puff in a sauna!

Any hopes the England player had of Coufal departing the Irons have evaporated, as West Ham confirmed the long awaited signing of the right back's new improved deal. Apart from scaring the Bejesus out of Grealish, Coufal's signing has firmed up the club's intention of rewarding players that give their all, and no one can say that Vlad doesn't give his all.

Hopefully The Impaler will be OK'd to play against a very accomplished Brentford attack tomorrow that features Ivan Toney, this is a very tricky fixture indeed. The Bees' players will relish playing on such a vast pitch and their travelling fans will get to appreciate the unique acoustics of the London Bowl that can make them sound rather loud if they wish.

Although Hammers have suffered only one Barclays Premier League defeat at home and are flying high in Europe as well as knocking Manchester United out of the Moose Cup, it is sobering to remember that there has only been one win at home in the League!

West Ham have to be at their absolute best to beat or even draw against Brentford, fortunately there was the pre-season friendly that helped acquaint David Moyes with Tomas Frank's style of play, but the stamina levels of the Irons will be tested to the limit.

The collateral effect of playing an awful lot of games in such a short space of time might catch up with Declan Rice and the rest of the team, but if they can just see this one over the line it would leave Hammers hale and hearty going in to the International break. - Ed

Sooner or later West Ham United along with other Barclays Premier League clubs will be releasing various NFT's (non fungible tokens) on various platforms, yield App have announced their partnership with the club which that entitles users to benefit from the opportunity of experiencing hospitality at home fixtures, through regular competitions throughout the season.

All very good and shows that the Irons are not going to be left behind in the wake of 'new' technology and it's developments, however what is far more relevant to David Moyes, his support staff and his players is maintaining the levels of fitness required to pursue trophies on four different fronts.

To that purpose it is CRYO, and not CRYPTO that interests Moyes and his staff, Cryotherapy has gained popularity among athletes across many sports. The main goals of cryotherapy, and specifically whole-body cryotherapy, are for injury prevention and counteracting negative inflammatory symptoms following athletic performance in hopes of improving recovery.

It is the use of CRYO, in conjunction with intense manipulation and physiotherapy, that has helped Vlad the Impaler Coufal be made available for Sunday's 'crucial' home game against newly promoted Brentford. You may ask yourself why the home game against the bees is so crucial? The answer is simply that every game from hereon in is crucial for the Irons if they are to maintain their current upward trajectory, anything less than 100% will see the club slip into the 'mediocre' category of midfield 'safety'.

So, forget Crypto chat for now, and listen out for the Cryo chat! - LN

Anyone attending the Europa League cup tie last night between West Ham and 'Rabid' Vienna, as opposed to those watching on TV would have noticed a large banner that 'suddenly' appeared on the hoarding where the away fans were located which read 'God Loves Ultras'.

It was quickly ordered to be taken down but it set the tone and was indicative of the away support, perhaps they were just blown away by the unbelievable pyrotechnic display that preceded the game which was at full WHO live volume!

Three arrests were made following disturbances during the game, 'Rabid' Fans hurled objects at Hammers fans on numerous occasions, while a number of Rapid fans jumped over the advertising barriers. The Met Police said two arrests were made for the alleged assault of an emergency services worker and one for possession of an offensive weapon.
'Declan Rice's opener, triggered the first disturbance with a number of the 1,300 Rapid Vienna fans jumping over barriers and objects being thrown between both sets of supporters, after a brief respite trouble continued as Rapid had a penalty chalked off with 20 minutes to go and Said Benrahma's injury time goal agitated the away fans further.

"We want to be a club in Europe and be there regularly. Because of that we want to behave correctly. We don't know who started that but we don't want that reputation," said David Moyes. Uefa are waiting for the referees report before deciding whether to investigate the incidents further.
Whatever 'God's Ultras' thought, they came to the wrong place to exhibit their brand of support, they were lucky the Police in attendance didn't call on the 'tooled up' back up that is available for every fixture due to terrorism considerations. We from the Org witnessed at first hand the'Ultras' trying to cause as much trouble as they could, in the event, a combination of fans who wouldn't put up with, police and security as back up and a shattering loud PA was enough to quell the rowdy visitors behaviour.

Watching the fans of Rapid Vienna was like being in a time warp, it was like going back to the 70's and shows just how far the game in this country has progressed, both on and OFF the pitch. Fans travelling for the return fixture might want to consider their safety, especially if they are accompanied by younger supporters. - Ed

West Ham are currently a Jekyll and Hyde type of outfit, the club is performing beyond the wildest hopes of long suffering fans and is currently on an upward trajectory on and off the pitch. That is not to say there aren't disgruntled fans, Hammers United being a case in point, but generally there is an air of optimism surrounding the club that has been missing an awfully long time.

The Board are still very unpopular, particularly for those pursuing their own agenda, but the most vitriol is usually reserved for Baroness Brady. The reasons are multiple, she is seen as the driving force and mouthpiece for the move from the Boleyn Ground to the Olympic Stadium which has proved to be an extremely flawed process, differing massively from her assessment of it being the most successful stadium transfer ever! However her cardinal, sin, something which she perpetuates to this very day is her column in the Sun newspaper, a tabloid universally despised by most supporters for their inaccurate coverage of the Hillsborough tragedy.

There is every likelihood that Lady Brady gives the payment she receives for the column to charity, and why wouldn't she? After all she is a wealthy person already, but it doesn't sit right with a lot of Hammers fans that she continues to 'contribute' to the Murdoch empire. However, in a rare attack of sentiment she showed she DOES have a heart, this is what she had to say regarding the Peter's family request for the Hammers great to have his ashes interned at the base of the new statue outside the Olympic Stadium of Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters and Bobby Moore.

Baroness Brady: “Everyone at West Ham United is truly moved by this announcement. When Kathy approached us about her family’s wishes, and explained the reasoning, it was something that we were overwhelmingly honoured to fulfil. Martin adored West Ham United. As an ambassador at Upton Park on match days in his later years, he loved the interaction he enjoyed with supporters, whether it be an autograph, a photograph, or just a chat with the man they considered a hero, a legend, a colossus of the game. As Kathy has said, he would be filled with pride to know that he is again surrounded by those who loved and worshipped him, here with us at every match, and deservedly honoured alongside his friends and team-mates. I hope that Kathy and the Peters family can take great comfort from the fact that the entire West Ham United family will now have the opportunity to pay their respects to Martin, and that he is now resting at peace.”

A touch of class from someone who had in the past seemed incapable of showing such sentiment, in what was a rare glimpse of humanity shown by a usually hard headed business person. There is hope yet! - LN