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  • Hammers Supporters Unanimous In Joy For Adrian

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 15/08/2019 - 12:57

    It would take a rather cruel hearted West Ham fan to not enjoy ex-Keeper Adrian San Miguel's moment in the spotlight, unless he is psychic there is no way the shot stopper would ever have envisaged playing in the 'Super Cup' final between Liverpool and Chelsea.

    Adrian was always an immensely popular player while with West Ham, a definite fans favourite, he even bided his time when he was initially dropped in favour of Joe Hart before eventually being recalled, he then had to 'face off' against Lukasz Fabianski for the number one spot before finally deciding he had to move from the London Stadium.

    Adrian was offered a new deal at West Ham, but not on his original wages, therefore when Liverpool came calling his decision to join up with Jurgen Klopp was a no-brainer. Incidentally for those who wonder why Adrian wasn't kept on by Manuel Pellegrini, the reason is quite simple, money!

    Roberto and David Martin were brought in as back up keepers in order for the highly promising Nathan Trott to go out on loan, interestingly the combined wages of both Roberto and David Martin of £50,000 per week are less than the £60,000 Adrian was being paid. Rumour has it that Adrian signed for Liverpool for £70,000 per week excluding bonuses.

    The recent injury to Fabianski will have focused minds at the club, but surely no one can begrudge the extremely amiable Adrian's success with the Pool - Ed

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  • Newport away

    Submitted by Hammers 65 on Wed, 14/08/2019 - 12:02

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    Well Newport away in the cup it is,banana skin in the making or will we give it our best shot?they have a great pedigree of late in the cups so we need to be top of our game,likely to be on the telly also...mmm

  • What To Do With 'Winnie'?

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 13/08/2019 - 13:30

    Now the dust has settled on what was a wholly unagreeable start to the season, West Ham fans are asking pertinent questions about the squad assembled for the coming campaign. One of the main sources of confusion is what plans are realistically in place for Winston Reid, it is easy to forget that not that long ago Reid's name was one of the first that managers put on their team sheets, not only that but the powerful New Zealander was coveted by various clubs, including Arsenal and their neighbours!

    To head off potential suitors, in March 2015 Reid was handed a new six and a half year with a £70,000 basic wage, and as has happened to so many Hammers players in the past then missed 17 games of that season due to hamstring injuries. He then played quite consistently but still missed games on a regular basis due to various 'niggles' which meant he was missing ten games per season, not forgetting the games required to return to full match fitness after each injury.

    Unfortunately, through no fault of his own Reid's next injury was a big one, having just returned from injury he was knocked unconscious on March the 3rd 2018 during the match against Crystal Palace, falling awkwardly and unnaturally resulting in a massive knee injury that has essentially kept him out of the game since, a total of 484 days and counting!

    While there have been encouraging statements from the club outlining 'Winnie's ' potential return to fitness from injury the messages are rather mixed. One day he is progressing well ahead of being 'eased' back in to the first team squad, the next he is 'cautiously' being reintegrated to the club's training regime, which is essentially the polar opposite of the first statement.

    The assumption was that Winston Reid would play a few matches with the U-23's in order to get himself match fit, but he has made no such appearances, which beggars the question why not? It seems that the club is not happy unless there are at least two or three high earners languishing with the medical team instead of actually playing and training, it is to be hoped that these events will become a thing of the past and that the players in question can be moved on, even at a loss!

    This article is not meant to be an 'assault' on Reid, far from it, he was always a very popular player here at the Org, but with the squad restrictions now imposed by FIFA the club cannot afford to have places taken up by 'sick notes', and much as we admire Reid unfortunately he doesn't represent good value, furthermore his injury problems aren't necessarily going to go away either. Great servant in the past with some memorable performances, but the club has to move on now. - Ed

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  • Chastened But Not Stirred-Hammers 'Ghost Team'

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    Submitted by nevillenixon on Mon, 12/08/2019 - 11:45

    The opening fixture of the Barclays Premier League is the one day when hope springs eternal, before reality comes crashing down. In Hammers case the team are generally beaten by at least four goals, so Saturday's drubbing didn't come as too much of a surprise.

    What hurt was the manner in which the team were beaten, albeit by the reigning champions, what was confusing was for the first 20 minutes Manuel Pellegrini's team looked sharp and impressive in every area with the exception of the left flank. Even at half time there were grounds for optimism, but as soon as the second half started it became obvious what was going to occur, Pep Guadiola had been incandescent with rage at his team as they came in at half time, a performance they weren't going to repeat.

    The rest as they say is history, except that fans were left with more questions than answers, and that is not even including the VAR debacle. No 'new signing' Yarmolenko, No Authur Masuaku and No Mark Noble who apparently has been suffering from one of the worst 'dead legs' in history!

    It is easy to single out players in the aftermath of a defeat, particularly a heavy one at home, but Aaron Cresswell, who was made captain in Noble's absence, had an absolute stinker of a match. Unfortunately Manu Lanzini also had a very poor game, it was as if he had forgotten the intensity of the Barclays Premier League and was only able to move sideways.

    All in all there were few positives if any to take from what was a chastening start to the season, it can only be hoped that the result might stir up a bit of hurt that manifests itself with an improved performance this coming Saturday away to Brighton, who of course 'whupped' Watford 3-0 at Vicarage road on the opening day.

    Bottom of the league, the only way is up! - Ed

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  • 1st knee jerk of the season

    mcbikeman's picture
    Submitted by mcbikeman on Sat, 10/08/2019 - 14:20

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    We played citeh we lost go figure 20 mins we looked ok but Anderson again just walking around how he was not taken off at HT i do not no and bringing on Forcandles for Antonio was strange indeed...i do not believe the side had the belief they could get anything out of the match so instead of having ago we just sat and watched citeh in 3rd gear play around us...mahrez all left foot how many times was he allowed to cut in onto it? to many is the answer diop looked lazy cressy ball watching for the first and ripped for pace....DEFENSIVELY not good enough citeh or not some of it was really really poor the basics were just not there...Of course we will not play teams like this week in week out but we made it to easy for citeh to easy indeed a lot of work needs to be done especially at the back which i mentioned all summer needed reinforcements....losing is no shame but losing at home 0-5 is a DISGRACE an utter DISGRACE.....Rock bottom of the league adrift on goal difference already only way is up i spose:-(

  • Report: Confirmed Team Sheets West Ham Vs Man City

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 10/08/2019 - 11:41

    West Ham Utd: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Wilshere, Anderson, Antonio, Lanzini, Haller. Subs: Roberto, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Sanchez, Snodgrass, , Fornals, Hernandez.
    Manchester City: Edison, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, David Silva, Hernandez, De Bruyne, Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez, Subs: Aguero, Bravo, Otamendi, Gündogan, Bernardo, Cancelo, Foden

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  • Report: Confirmed Team Sheets West Ham Vs Man City

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 10/08/2019 - 11:40

    West Ham Utd: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Wilshere, Anderson, Antonio, Lanzini, Haller. Subs: Roberto, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Sanchez, Snodgrass, , Fornals, Hernandez.
    Manchester City: Edison, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, David Silva, Hernandez, De Bruyne, Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez, Subs: Aguero, Bravo, Otamendi, Gündogan, Bernardo, Cancelo, Foden

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  • Mark More Noble Than A Dead Leg

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 09/08/2019 - 15:50

    Ahead of the first fixture of this season's Barclays Premier League, Skipper Mark Noble used his Evening Standard Column to state that he has a muscle injury, not a dead leg! There is an enormous difference between both injuries, generally a dead leg lasts for one or two games at the most, muscle injuries are entirely dependant on how much damage was done to the muscle before it was treated, if the original injury was misdiagnosed then Mark might be looking at another MONTH off!

    Every season there is a certain group of fans calling for Noble to be replaced by a more dynamic type of player, each season a new 'heir to the throne' is touted, and every season Noble eventually wins the day. However time stands still for no man and Mark might see his appearances diminishing over the course of the season, so the fans who wanted to see Noble dropped will now have their way, but as the saying goes "be careful what you wish for".

    In the past, with few exceptions, Hammers have generally performed better when Noble is in the starting line up. I became part of the game plan that Noble would be replaced with 20 minutes or so to go because by that part of the match his legs are gone. No shame in that, as Noble puts in a tremendous amount of effort, but with the addition of Pablo Fornals is there going to be any room for the Hammers captain in the starting eleven?

    Readers will note that we haven't mentioned Jack Wilshere as another player waiting in the wings to take over Noble's position, because with Jack's injury record we fully expect him to pick up an injury sooner than later, hopefully if he does it will not be another serious one, although much does depend on if he has managed to get it in to his 'noggin' to not tackle recklessly. Apparently Manuel Pellegrini has gone to great lengths to communicate this crucial mindset change to Wilshere, and if he has listened we might just see Jack featuring for more than just a few cameo games as he comes back from injury.

    Winds in excess of 50 mile per hour are forecast for tomorrow's game, but bookies still have West Ham at an eye watering 16-1 to win, and unfortunately the bookies are rarely wrong! - Ed

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