Return of the King
Forums:
Arthur what a performance for 64 mins last night for a player to be out and having had knee surgery to come back and play as he did was a sight for sore eyes long may it continue.
Forum | Non-Football Related
Hidden sign in plain sight
Forums:
Anyone else notice Lingards red devil sign after his goal not cross hammers as he has done before...so was it a dig at Ole or was it a signal he wants to stay at manure? gotta love a good conspiracy theory dont ya!and i wonder if thats why Moyes made more than a fuss over him at full time last night.
Live Wolves v West Ham Line Ups
Wolves: Rui Patricio, Semedo, Coady (c), Saïss, Aït-Nouri, Dendoncker, Ruben Neves, Traoré, Pedro Neto, Podence, Willian José Subs: Ruddy (GK), Hoever, Gibbs-White, Kilman, Otasowie, Marques, Richards, Vitinha, Silva
West Ham: Fabiański, Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Coufal, Noble (c), Souček, Masuaku, Fornals, Lingard, Antonio Subs: Martin (GK), Trott (GK), Fredericks, Johnson, Balbuena, Alves, Benrahma, Bowen, Odubeko
Coventry Surprise Inclusion For 'Resurrection' Day?
West Ham youngster Conor Coventry has been earmarked to be an influential midfielder for the future, and perhaps now is the time for him to step up to the plate. Coventry is already a seasoned international player and surely represents a far better option in midfield to replace Declan Rice than Mark Noble, everyone loves "nobs', but he has become a liability who doesn't have the ability to influence games in the way that he used to, this is not a deliberately damning comment, just grim reality.Coping with 'curve balls' is what a manager has to do, David Moyes MUST have had some sort of contingency planning for an injury to Rice or Soucek, or heaven forbid to the two of them. Mark Noble arguably could have 'filled in' for a game or two, but not for the rest of the season.
If Moyes doesn't deploy Coventry, his only other viable option will be to revert to a three/five at the back and push Pablo Fornals in to the middle along side of Tomas Soucek, by doing so he will prevent the midfield from being over run by the zealous attackers of Wolves this evening.
It's crap, but there is no use crying over spilt milk, it is what it is, but many fans' dreams of Europe have already begun to crash down.- Ed
Appiah-Forson
Forums:
A few of our coaching staff have compared Keenan Appiah-Forson, how he is right up there with N'Golo Kante of Chelsea. Now Rice is going to be out for a while, wouldn't it be time to either play Forson or give Coventry a chance. Noble is always the likely choice but shouldn't we be blooding our youngsters?
It's Happened Again!
What is it with West Ham and players getting crocked while on international duty? The news that every Hammers fan dreaded, but in a way anticipated, of the injury Declan Rice picked up while playing against Poland has been greeted with as much doom and gloom as can be shown.
West Ham were, or still are, on the threshold of attaining a Champions league place, but news of Rice's injury is the biggest downer fans could possibly have received, the incredibly influential midfielder is definitely out of tonight's squad facing Wolves at Molineaux, but there is a distinct possibility he may well be out for the rest of the season.
This could have a serous impact on Gareth Southgate's plans for the Euro's, but pardon our French, "bugger Southgate!" Rice is yet another Hammer to be sidelined by an injury picked up while playing for his country, he joins Manu Lanzini, and before him Dean Ashton as well as David James, as yet another casualty.
Fans are rightly proud of seeing their players on the International stage, but it comes at a cost, unfortunately the cost of Rice's injury is almost inestimable, but it probably has put to bed any chances the club had of finishing in the top four, even the top six now looks unlikely!
Moyes will probably start Mark Noble in Declan's place, and the team will inevitably go on to lose the game, as they have done in every other match that the 'captain' has started thus far in the season, it could only happen to West Ham! - Ed
Something Fishy About Moyes's Comments
It has seemed like an age since West Ham United's underwhelming 3-3 'defeat' to Arsenal at the as yet unnamed London Stadium, so it is only natural that gossip and heresay goes in to overdrive, especially if the players concerned have performed well on the International stage.
Such has been the case for Hammers' international contingent, with all of them playing extremely well for their countries, David Moyes is obviously proud of the platform he has given them to project their abilities to a greater audience, however with there is a caveat involved, namely the increased interest will have teams 'sniffing' around hoping to unsettle players like Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and 'honorary hammer' Jesse Lingard.
David Moyes has been quick to point out that reaching the Champions League is NOT a pre-requisite for retaining the services of his top players, more like an incentive for the future and confirmation of exactly how far the club has progressed in just twelve months!
Unfortunately at the same time as issuing the 'hands off' notice, Moyes elected to say that if 'huge offers' are submitted for his players, then the club would have to listen to them, he the added it would take a 'bank of England and bank of Scotland bid to prise Rice away from East London, he then added that it would take a 'bank of the Czech republic' offer to entice the mere countenance of selling the club's leading scorer Tomas Soucek.
The problem as we see it is, there are several clubs interested in both players, and each of the 'interested' parties is actually owned by a country, not just their banks! The clubs that are state owned or financed CAN afford to make ludicrous offers, and those that aren't state owned are flush with cash from years of sewing the seeds from their Champions League monopolies.
By the summer Hammers fans can expect to see the back pages occupied with scurrilous rumours about where Rice, Soucek and others might end up, bids from Real Madrid (state owned and financed in all but name), Manchester City (state owned and financed in all but name) and PSG (state owned and financed in all but name) among others.
Retaining the club's top players will be difficult, but not impossible, handing out lucrative new contracts is not necessarily the right way forwards either, the folly of doing so is clearly manifest with the lengthy contracts handed out to players like Andy Carroll, Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko and Winston Reid, the latter two are still costing the club £200,000 per week in wages alone!
The top of the Barclays Premier League is looking like a pre-covid French taxi rank outside of the Gare du Nord, by the time Hammers take to the pitch against Wolves this evening at Molineaux there could be an astonishing FOUR clubs, all on 49 points!
So no pressure on Moyes's boys to get the win that would take them in to 4th place then, this is the 'nitty gritty part of the season, and a chance for David Moyes to prove he has neutralised the 'powder puff, flaky hammers of the past. - Ed
Will 'The King' Return?
It has been a long long while since Authur 'the King' Masuaku featured for West Ham, 18 games in fact, and although the team have coped admirably without him, it has missed his 'fleet of foot' contributions. Prior to his operation, the 'King' had been a key component in a side that was devastating most of the opposition by utilising a three at the back formation, by playing ahead of Aaron Cresswell he was able to utilise his unique ability to bring the ball out of defence like no other.
It is probably too much to expect Authur to start against Wolves on Monday, but he will make the bench at least, his energy and enthusiasm might well be one of crucial elements necessary to sustain Hammers push for Europe as we enter into the final nine games of this strangest of seasons.
Unless David Moyes is fully backed in the next transfer window, which is most definitely NOT a given, this season represents what might be the only opportunity that West Ham have of 'breaking through to the other side'. By reaching Europe the club's profile will go from good, to attractive, that is of course mentioned in the hope that if the club do qualify for Europe, that it is at a competition stage that doesn't require too much arduous travelling to the nether regions of far flung european locations.
At this stage of what has been an incredibly compressed season, ALL teams are suffering from injuries and losses of form, whether temporary or permanent, and so Hammers go in to the remaining nine games with as good a chance as any to progress.
Unfortunately the fixtures ahead for David Moyes and his team are rather difficult, however as a slight bonus Hammers play three classic 'six pointers' among those nine fixtures, the games against Chelsea, Everton and Leicester will go a long way to deciding this season's final outcome.
With the king back, all we need now is for the 'Angel' to return! - Ed
Arnie's Back!
Snake 2:0, Marko Arnautovic, has deemed that West Ham United can avail themselves of his talent by bringing him back from his 'Chinese' exile, at least that is according to his brother and agent. It seems the attraction of earning huge amounts of money has waned somewhat, he and his young family have grown tired of the countless 'minders' that accompany them where ever they go, and are looking to return to 'civilisation!
David Moyes is an admirer of Arnautovic, and is credited for turning the winger in to one of the Barclays Premier League's most feared strikers during his first tenure as manager. Apparently 'Arnie' is prepared to take a huge salary cut in order to play at the London Stadium again, and has cited his brothers 'greed' as the reason for his acrimonious departure from the Irons in order to seek his fortune in China.
Although Moyes is a keen admirer it is a point of conjecture as to whether Arnie's return would be a good or bad thing for the club, he might upset the apple cart and mess up the wonderful team spirit that the manager has engendered within his squad.
That said, Hammers do desperately need at least one more striker, but cannot afford to 'take a punt' at high value players, the shadow of 'Hallergate' has been cast long and permanent in the hierarchy's psyche. Maybe the devil you know is better than the devil you don't, and a firing on all cylinders Marko Arnautovic might be just what is needed at the London Stadium. - Ed
Centre Back City!
What is it with West Ham and centre backs? One minute there is a paucity and then the next minute a proliferation, just like London buses or in some cases London policemen, they tend to appear in threes, just as is happening at the London Stadium at this moment in time.
It should be remembered that less than 12 months ago Hammers were attempting to 'lure' Burnley's 29 year old James Tarkowski to East London for an eye watering £30 Million! Eventually even that figure wasn't enough for those in power at Turf Moor, their relative greed will probably be haunting them now.
Instead David Moyes elected to bring 'Les' Dawson to the club on loan from Watford, Dawson being 18 months older than Tarkowski was a cheaper option, however he has proved to be an astute signing who's loan deal is due to be made permanent for a bargain £3.5 Million, which includes his original loan fee.
In addition to 'Les', Hammers have the venerable 'Angel of the East' Angelo Ogbonna, soon to return from injury, a resurgent Issa Diop and the option to extend Fabian Balbuena's contract by a further two years. The encouraging news for the coming months is that youngster Jamal Baptiste, along with recent signing Frederik Alves are ear marked for greater things, meaning that Hammers are very well placed for centre backs ahead of the new season.
We nearly forgot, there is also the matter of Winston Reid, the 'warrior' who is fighting his way back to full match fitness while on loan with promotion chasing Brentford, his future may well lay elsewhere, once proven to be fit again is a useful asset to have.
One hole plugged then, now all Moyes has to do, apart from making 'Les's' deal permanent is to find q couple of strikers, an additional full back and a strong box to box midfielder to assist and compliment Hammers' midfield dynamic 'Rice & Potato Salad' combination.
Not a tall order then, and David Moyes also has to negotiate the 'tricky' transfer of Jesse Lingard now that the attacking players 'bad parent' club have finally woken up to his potential, and the fact that they have Hammers exactly where they want them when it comes to naming their price for the 28 year old who has shone so brightly since arriving in January. - Ed
Pages
