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  • Three Wheels On The 'Ham Wagon'

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sun, 11/04/2021 - 19:45

    The end of Hammers 3-2 win over Leicester City was like the Alamo, again!what is it with West Ham? Are the club secretly trying to kill off a large amount of fans with suspect hearts? There can be no other explanation as to why a hugely over achieving team can go in to matches devoid of their best players,  and then race to a three goals a game advantage and then have to battle through the rest of the game to survive!

    Somehow and somewhere, the team spirit David Moyes has instilled in his players, helped in not a small way by Jesse Lingard, just seems to keep on grinding out results, just like 'elite' teams do. Aaron Cresswell and Mar Noble were both added to the worryingly long injury list during the game, but the band wagon keeps on rolling on, despite only having three wheels left.

    Despite the brilliant result, it will still be incredibly difficult for the Irons to maintain fourth spot, but at least they have given it a real go, and perhaps fans might like to think about how they support their team as the club moves forward, and how they can make the ground, their club have achieved the 2nd best results of any other Barclays Premier League club so far, a happier place to be.

    As the wonderful Darren Harry says, "button up butter cups, and enjoy the ride". - Ed

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  • Any Stats men here

    mcbikeman's picture
    Submitted by mcbikeman on Sun, 11/04/2021 - 18:56

    Forums:

    When was the last time we scored 3 goals in a game 3 times in succession and when was the last time we did the double over 5 teams in a season?....

  • Live West Ham v Leicester Line Ups

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sun, 11/04/2021 - 13:09

    West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Masuaku, Noble (c), Souček, Fornals, Bowen, Lingard Subs: Martin (GK), Trott (GK), Fredericks, Johnson, Balbuena, Alves, Coventry, Benrahma, Odubeko
    Leicester: Schmeichel (c), Pereira, Amartey, Evans, Fofana, Castagne, Praet, Tielemans, Ndidi, Vardy, Iheanacho Subs: Ward (GK), Mendy, Albrighton, Fuchs, Thomas, Daley-Campbell, Leshabela, Tavares, Suengchitth

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  • Moyes To Annoy-Again!

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sun, 11/04/2021 - 12:10

    David Moyes made over 550 league appearances in his career as a player before becoming coach at Preston, since then he has managed over 575 Premier League Games, pushing him towards an incredible 1000 games in his managerial career, the figure currently stands at 974!

    It would therefore be churlish to suggest that 'he hasn't a clue', a criticism often made when fans don't fully understand the metric of what is going on behind the scenes at a club. David Moyes will almost definitely name Mark Noble in the starting line up to face Leicester City in today's crucial six-pointer against Leicester City at the London Stadium.

    He will probably do so because Mark Noble IS a strong leader, both on and off the pitch, the only issue being that Brendan Rodgers is an astute manager and will set his team up to exploit Mark Noble's lack of pace, and the space created by Declan Rice's injury, not to mention the Irons lack of Michail Antonio's fire power.

    Losing both 'Ant & Dec' is obviously not what the manager wanted ahead of such an important game, but it is what it is, at least he can deploy the "lingard Machine' to frighten the Foxe's defenders, and he has 'King Authur' Masuaku available, at least to start with.

    There is no point in banging on about the lack of strength in depth of the squad, that is something for post season, for now all fans can do is to hope that the 'cobbled together' team that David Moyes puts out can contain a Leicester City team that can be devastating on their day. - Ed

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  • Bowen Escapes Ban

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 10/04/2021 - 13:49

    Jarrod Bowen has escaped major sanction, but has been warned by the Football Association over a tweet from 2012 that contained a racist term. The 24-year-old will also complete an FA education course for the tweet, which he made when he was 15. Bowen apologised for the content of the post earlier in April, describing it as "offensive and immature".

    The FA took into account Bowen's age at the time, as well as the fact that the post was made eight years ago. Bowen was not registered as a participant in football or as playing affiliated football when he sent the tweet. He would not have been under FA jurisdiction at the time.

    The club have spoken to Bowen and said the issue would be "dealt with internally". Obviously there is a clear line that must never be crossed, but 15 year olds have never been known to not make mistakes, as Harry Redknapp once said "show me someone who says he has never made a mistake, and I will show you a f**king liar!"

    This 'offence' is highly historical, but it is good that a line has been drawn under the event, now hopefully things can move forward. We would never wish to condone any form of racist behaviour, but also recognise the errors of youth. - Ed

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  • Strikers

    Submitted by Gravs on Sat, 10/04/2021 - 10:47

    Forums:

    We've had Costa, Mateta, Gomez, Batshuayi all
    mentioned in the same breath as Giroud
    to name a few. It now seems Abraham is a target too
    Reading that Chelsea are now up for signing
    Alfie Inge Haaland and Aguero. Thus dropping Abraham even further down the pecking list. Personally think that he
    could do a decent job for us. Albeit on loan or signing. Your thoughts??

  • Super Season for Tomas Soucek Just Keeps Getting Better

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 09/04/2021 - 13:23

    Scoring goals isn’t really what defensive midfielders are about, so Tomas Soucek obviously didn’t get the memo. West Ham United have had the odd Czech Republic international turn out for the team down the years, but nothing quite like this.

    Ludek Miklosko played between the posts at Upton Park for most of the ‘90s, earning Hammer of the Year honours for 1991. He famously put in a Man of the Match display in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United which handed the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers on the final day of the 1994-95 season too.

    Tomas Repka did little to disprove the stereotypes attached to defenders from Eastern Europe during five years with West Ham in the early 2000s. He picked up the first of four red cards while at the club on his Hammers debut no less, but at least remained in East London and put relegation out of the Premier League right by helping them earn promotion back.

    That’s more than Radoslav Kovac did when West Ham again dropped down from the top flight into the Championship in 2011. Soucek, a surprise source of goals from deep-lying midfield, has 13 goals and counting for club and country this season.

    While today’s prediction of value Premier League goalscorer bets often still overlooks him, this kind of form isn’t such a shock if you dig a little deeper. At previous team Slavia Prague, Soucek managed 12 goals in 26 games across all competitions in the first half of last season before he moved to the Hammers on loan. That’s a ratio just shy of one in two which most strikers would be proud of! During the 2018-19 campaign, only one domestic footballer netted more times than Soucek in the Czech First League. No wonder Slavia did the double that season, and there’s no prizes for guessing who opened the scoring in the cup final.

    It’s true that he took penalties for his last club, which contributed to an impressive 30-goal tally in his last 18 months in Prague, but this is more than just a purple patch. Soucek might just be one of the best-value finds for a relatively modest £19,000,000 in recent Premier League history.

    David Moyes isn’t the only beneficiary either. Away to Estonia in the Czechs’ first 2022 World Cup qualifier, Soucek hit a hat-trick in little more than 15 minutes either side of half-time, which took the game completely away from the hosts. This is a footballer entering his prime, having just turned 26. Soucek had nine Premier League goals going into the March international break, putting him above recognised forwards Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen, who cost West Ham a similar amount up front when purchased from Hull City. Yet he still goes under the radar, because Hammers winter window loan signing Jesse Lingard has made a big impact since linking up with old Manchester United boss Moyes. Soucek is all action in the engine room, and more prolific than compatriot and fellow Czech Golden Ball winner Tomas Rosicky ever was across London at Arsenal. Long may it continue! -Ed

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  • How Far To Reach The Most Supporters Elite?

    Submitted by the editor on Fri, 09/04/2021 - 10:01


    Becoming a 'global brand' was one of the reasons behind the club's contensious move from the beloved Boleyn Ground to the vast wide expanses of the 'unfit' for football, as yet unnamed London Stadium. Well, the club has an awful long way to go, but it has to start sometime, beyond the competition lies the golden chalice of 'proper recognition', the last time the club received it was in 1966 having provided the back bone of England's only World Cup winning team.

    This is how West Ham are generally perceived

    West Ham may not be one of the top three clubs in Europe but they are one of the most flamboyant clubs in the UK and around the world. Amongst its fans are a host of celebrities. Here are just a few of them: Barack Obama, Katy Perry, Keira Knightley, Alfred Hitchcock, Elijah Wood, Matt Damon and Lennox Lewis. But West Ham don’t just have stellar fans. Such football stars as Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Harry Redknapp and others have played for it. West Ham have won three FA Cups, the Super Cup and even the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. The Hammers may not be a top club with a huge number of trophies, but true fans remain loyal to them and appreciate the team’s rich history.

    The club has a long long way to go before it can be included in the 'rich list' of high achievers from a global audience point of view...football is the most popular team sport and clubs have a huge fan base. For example, 3.6 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup in stadiums and on television (you can find out more about TV broadcasting on Telecomasia.net). This number is equal to one-third of the world’s population over 4 years old. In this article, we will tell you which are the most-watched football clubs in Europe. We will base it on the total number of followers on all social media.

    3. Manchester United (England, Premier League)
    Total supporters: 135.8 million

    The fact that Manchester United are in the top three most popular teams proves the true loyalty of their fans. They remain with the Red Devils, even though the club had practically no trophies after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. The fans always fill the 75,000-seat Old Trafford almost to capacity when United play their home games, and the queue for stadium season tickets stretches back for several years.

    Of course, in cities like Manchester, the love for the home team is passed down from generation to generation, but the club has a lot of credit for maintaining the loyalty of so many fans. United’s exclusivity is borne out by its many trophies. They have become the champion of England 20 times (the record of the country) winning the Champions League three times.

    Four players who won the prestigious Golden Ball award, four world champions and two Euro winners played for this club. From the list of 100 Legendary Footballers, which was compiled in 1998 in honor of the anniversary of the Premier League, 14 players defended the colors of Manchester United.
    2. FC Barcelona (Spain, La Liga)
    Total supporters: 254.7 million
    Barcelona have been the Champion of Spain 26 times and are one of the strongest clubs. Moreover, the best team in the history of football is called the 2009-2012 team, which was led by Josep Guardiola. He helped Barcelona develop their special style of play, which is so appreciated by Catalan fans. In the 21st century alone, the Blaugrana managed to win La Liga 10 times and the Champions League four times.
    Six Barcelona players won the Ballon d’Or. Cruyff won it twice and Messi six times! Defending the colours of the Catalan club, 12 players became world champions and 13 won the Euro.
    1. Real Madrid (Spain, La Liga)
    Total supporters: 259.2 million
    Real Madrid are the most awarded European club. They have 33 Spanish league titles, but most of the grand fans are outside of this sunny country. In 2017, Spain was home to only 5% of the 450 million cream fans. Most of the fans were from the USA and Indonesia.

    In 2017, Madrid announced they were the first sports brand to have over 100 million Facebook followers. Today this number has grown significantly.

    Real Madrid hold the record for the most victories in the Champions League. They won the cup 13 times. Seven representatives of this Spanish club have received the Ballon d’Or (Di Stefano has won the award twice, Ronaldo - four times), and the number of world and European champions in the Los Blancos is impossible to count. No wonder Real Madrid are the most popular European club!

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  • Whu Next After Big Mich?

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 09/04/2021 - 09:55

    For some reason, injuries in football tend to occur in multiples for teams, and West Ham United are a prime example. Having had to deal with the 'continued loss' of Michail Antonio due to his extremely temperamental hamstrings, the club had been coping relatively well, but injuries to Angelo Ogbonna, Authur Masuaku, Pablo Fornals and finally Declan Rice have served to illustrate exactly how paper thin David Moyes's squad really is.

    The latest tranche of bad news as Hammers enter the final 8 games of the season is, yes you guessed it, Big Mich Antonio's season is probably done and dusted, that news allied with Declan Rice's unavailability for at least another four games, could put the kibosh on the club's unlikely push for a champions league place, to lose one talisman is hard to live with, but two , make achieving a 'top slot' virtually impossible.

    It would be very simple to do a 'Kier Starmer' and just carp and criticise without any positive contribution, the fact is Hammers have punched well above their weight, and to continue with the boxing vernacular, have now been caught out by two blows below the belt, highly unfair, but exactly what happens when you try to battle it out with the big boys, eventually their access to resources will always prevail.

    From conversations we have had with fans, an eighth place finish is probably all that can be hoped for now, it still represents an astonishing turn around within a twelve month period, but nonetheless will be viewed as a golden opportunity gone begging. Next season will not be the same, crowds at games, even heavily restricted, will bring the home advantage balance back, and the chances of a 'mid to low' table team of reaching the heady heights of the top four will virtually become non existent.

    Moyes's team selections from now until the season's end will be hamstrung, however he will at least be able to call upon the services of the 'Angel' Ogbonna, and heaven knows, divine help is going to be needed. - Ed

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