Forum | Non-Football Related

Unless your club happens to be one of the Premier League's 'top six' elite, you have to be prepared for all sorts of injustices during the course of the season in the hope that "things will even themselves out' by the time the last game is played.

Well, as it stands teams will have to play for a month of Sundays before fans witness anything like a level playing field when it comes to match officials, particularly VAR. Loathed and despised by ALL, VAR has taken fan frustration to a new level!

If anyone had ANY doubt about the deep rooted Hatred of VAR, they just needed to see the disappointed masses exiting the London Stadium in the rain this afternoon. The looks on their faces were a mixture of rage and incredulity at what they had just experienced.

The team's 1st half performance was woeful to put it mildly, but inspired a quick fire David Moyes substitution the ground was soon rocking as 'Pacman' clawed a goal back off of Hammers 2-0 deficit almost instantaneously. Moyes actually made a proactive managerial move!

On came Alvarez and Mikey Antonio in place of a disturbingly off the boil JWP and the fish out of water that is Kalvin Phillips, straight away the team looked different and as it meant business. The crowd were duly rewarded with a Pacman goal that then inspired the 'siege of Burnley's time wasters'!

Burnley tried EVERY trick in the 'Brentford book of time consumption' and a few new ones of their own. Although a rampant Hammers attack left the defence exposed 'Phonse' made spectaculer saves that have almost become the norm for him, the 'big teams' will be sniffing around for him sooner or later.

This game should have ended as a 4-2 win to the Irons, instead it nearly ended in defeat courtesy of some mind-numbing and baffling decisions by the match officials. Record match of the day just to confirm whether 60,000 or so people, or at least those who stayed could have got their opinions so collectively wrong!

It is now THREE games in a row where Hammers have been robbed or mugged, call it what you will, of at least two points in extra time. The much maligned Danny Ings scored one but could have had a hat trick during his fleeting cameo role of 8 minutes of normal time in what was NOT a normal end of game!

"We were robbed" fans sang, but just like their dreams their protests will just fade and die! - LN

Ultimately Freiburg 'got away with one' in last night's Europa League game in Germany. The penalty that 'never was' given being a source of much frustration for fans and those within the club.

However the fact that so much hung on a penalty that was contentiously denied is a classic example of why 'Moyesball' doesn't always work.

Setting your team up with a vast distance between defence and attack for a massive European game beggars belief, especially from a manager of David Moyes experience, but the serial defensive man did exactly as many feared and played for the draw!

In football you get what you paid for, in this instance Moyes paid tactical peanuts and got ... fill in that which you think suits best.

Last night represented a golden opportunity to progress in a tournament that has the glittering prospect of Champions League football for the eventual winners, sadly on last night's showing Hammers will more likely be looking at Championship football! - Ed

Intermediaries have offered the 30-year-old World Cup winner to Barca, meanwhile, the AS Roma attacker is supposedly a target for West Ham United, are you sure?

Now, don't get us wrong, Paulo Dybala has been among the best players in Serie A for over a decade. The Argentine international rose to fame after joining Palermo in July 2012, Juventus signed him in 2015, and he enjoyed an excellent seven year stay with the Bianconeri before becoming a free agent in 2022.

Since the 30-year-old has been with AS Roma, Dybala has amassed 13 goals and seven assists in 26 appearances. The World Cup winner has been exceptional since RETURNING FROM INJURY, scoring goals for fun under the guidance of Daniele De Rossi.

But the word injury and Hammers forwards are virtually synonimous so alarm bells should be ringing! Anyway don't Hammers already have an over 30 years of age striker? 'Uncle Ingy' earns an outrageous £125,000 per week! No you don't need to go to Spec savers or Select Specs...that's the minimum he earns!

Hammers need to sign players to take them to the next level, but bringing Dybala into the picture is surely a backward step and it is also unclear if the player is open to joining West Ham instead of waiting for a 'bigger club'.

Barcelona will be an attractive destination for the Argentine international, considering the club’s constant UEFA Champions League presence. But it will be interesting to see if West Ham can beat the Blaugrana to his signature just as an excercise, but actually signing him?

Dybala, great player that he is (once was), is the complete antipathy of a Steidten signing...No way Jose! -Ed

Not having consumed recreational drugs since being a young ill-advised Musician, it is really easy to use the wrong street vernacular for drugs that are currently in use, but what ever their names are they ALL lead to some form of Psychosis with outcomes ranging from the humourous to the tragic!

So let's view Garth Crooks' weekly 'team of the week' slot for the BBC as an incorrect submission caused as he was attempting to juggle 'hungry' ex-Tottingham players in a nice orderly fashion into their seats at a 'swanky' Landos (eat as much as you can eat) located near Victoria station for their monthly 'snipe at how much these Lads get paid' meal out.

Victoria Station being chosen because its location is seen as 'Democratic' for all those doing their punditry duties, from the mighty BBC, via regional radio and TV right down to some of the vague 'arrys heroes' type websites.

Well every ex-player has to earn a decent buck to compensate for being 'rinsed' by their former clubs and the League's elite don't they, just ask Alan Smith. The ex-Arsenal 'whiney' can fill your boots and column inches with comments, at a PRICE!

Tottingham's Crooks (heaven forbid, not Levy or their Board) does rather fall into the needy and the false Rolex greedy category though. Fair enough if he feels the need to supplement his Pension with additional work good luck to him, he only generally tends to aggravate ALL except for Tottingham fans.

However, he does seem to reserve just that extra bit of 'Smithesque' vitriol for West Ham and their fans with his ludicrous omissions and inclusions of their players in his 'Team of the Weeek' slot!

Today though he took the candy, the full Monty and the cherry on top all in one by OMMITING Alphonse Areola, as goal keeper and INCLUDING Kurt Zouma as a defender ahead of 'El Machin', is the man on drugs? Crooks did however briefly come out of his 'trance' by including Tomy Soucek, although some would say including THREE West Ham Players was just a mistake due to numeracy issues!

Is there actually a 'back story' from the Beeb's editorial team that involves Garth's 'live' work', which is rumoured to be ending earlier than had originally been planned as part of the BBC's budget cut backs, and his desire to become 'King of the Hill' instead of Phil Mc Numpty?

Someone has to cough up for all those underprivileged Tottinghammers grasping for a gig in the media musical chair share out, so why not choose a Loony, or someone on drugs or both-USA Hammer.