You are here

Home

Forum | Non-Football Related

  • Do we have enough?

    asheshammer's picture
    Submitted by asheshammer on Sun, 06/08/2017 - 12:46

    Forums:

    I was going to post this under "One egg, or two?" as that seemed appropriate, but then I looked at the posts and people are actually talking about eggs -- I thought it was a metaphor! So, I think we need one more egg, preferably a golden one, before we kick off against Manure. And looking at the finances I think we should be able to afford it. We've spent £40M or less on two players (Marco and Chico) and brought in two others for wages (Zab on free; Hart on loan). We cleared a lot of people off the wage bill, sold a few players, sent kids out on loan, and there's still the Payet excess after last season. I feel we still need more depth and more attack and it would be nice to see one or even two players still come in. It hurt to see Iheanacho off to Leicester -- we could have brought him in as well and then we'd be looking pretty good. What do you think?

  • What Did We Learn, Was It A Cunning Plan West Ham v Man City?

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 04/08/2017 - 21:12

    Observers clearly lacking in knowledge about what pre-season football is supposed to be for, ie bringing a team to full fitness and full preparation ahead of the new season, as opposed to the friendlies being a cash cow, have been quick to condemn West Ham United's performance against a Man City team that had recently trounced Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. Players were accused of showing ineptitude, with the exception of Robert Snodgrass who clearly has a confidence issue which was clearly illustrated when put through on goal by wonderful combination play by Chico Hernandez and Andre Ayew only to play backwards and lose the moment, his time is surely done!

    On the subject of levels of ineptitude by organisations that should know better, ITV 4 proudly announced the showing of Daniel Craig in his first outing as Bond in Casino Royale, the EPG confirmed this, however they broadcast the original Casino Royale featuring David Niven*. At what point did someone on the production team realise they had cocked it up 'royally'? Stick or twist? Pull the broadcast and admit their mistake or just go with the flow? Well they chose the latter. https://www.itv.com/hub/itv4 Something can be learned from this with regards to Premier League football, If you play only just over a half of your best players and potential starting line up against a team that have ten times the financial value of yours you are guaranteed to be on the losing side, but what conclusions can be drawn from the friendly against Manchester City in Reykovic?

    Obviously City, with their far greater resources, were able to field two world class teams during the match, it was a different case for Slaven Billic as he juggled team selection along with injury management at the same time as trying to 'give youth a chance'. Big Arnie pulled up in the second half which looked a bit dodgy but Super Slav confirmed it was just cramp, whew, or wishful thinking? Some say that the non inclusion of Manuel Lanzini was as much about tactical preparation for the Premier League opening match against Manchester United at Old Trafford as it was about an actual 'injury' to Lanzini himself although he had admittedly turned an ankle previously on tour. Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is a well known stat man and studies the potential opposition intensely as part of his match day preparations, the opportunity to see how the little jewel performed in tandem with the little pea would have been one that he would like to have availed himself of but it was not to be, was it a cunning plan? After all we know all the about the cunning plan that 'kinda lingers' at West Ham, we had Tevezgate!

    Joe Hart likes a shout! The mics picked up a non stop training ground rant from Joe Hart, concentrate more on the shot stopping than the verbals Joe! Sam Byram, obviously with a point to prove, showed while Pablo Zabaleto is a refined 'old dog' that he is a young buck full of running who may yet learn from the old dog. Rice needs to play as a centre back, his natural position, and given Hammers awful injury record he will be needed to fill in following the inevitable injury to one or all of James Collins, Jose Fonte or Winston Reid, Rice CANNOT be sent out on loan again, so crucial is he to ensure there is adequate cover.
    The plus points?

    Authur Mauaku, as previously mentioned Declan Rice, Edmilson Fernandez and Tony Martinez, along with stalwarts Pedro Obiang and Angelo Ogbona, Zabaleto and Fonte looked worryingly 'leggy', Rice and Byram may well come in to their own as the season and it's demands progress. The negatives were plain to see, dear old 'Captain Marky' looked so off the pace it was embarrassing, however his blushes were hidden by 'Snoddy' who was so unbelievably bad that he laid a smoke screen down for his captain.

    The wisdom of playing another Premier League club one week ahead of the start of the season, especially a club who will on paper and have in the recent past given your club a good tonking is a matter of some debate, but it was a decent run out, what more do you expect when only half your team are playing? Despite the massive take up of season ticket renewals tickets for the next West Ham games can be found here Ed
    NB: ITV 4 merely changed the original EPG and acted as if nothing had happened, however the advertisers who paid to be associated with the modern version of the movie might have other ideas!

    Share

  • best non computer football game?

    hammergirl's picture
    Submitted by hammergirl on Fri, 04/08/2017 - 11:42

    Forums:

    Talking to my dad about this and he loved subbuteo and would play with friends for hours and another game he still has but is now defunct was called logatta...very indepth football dice game...you had a league of 18 teams playing home and away the first 5 games home team had blue numbered dice and away team had red dice with a couple more 0's on it like a handicap..after those 5 games completed you wrote up league table and when teams start playing each other the points difference decided on which other coloured dice you would use...so a handicap system came into play...you did that with league/cup/euros etc and it gets addictive....i'll take his word on that one:-)...so come on guys what games did you play or maybe still do.

  • Reece Burke And Josh Cullen Go But Declan Rice Stays!

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 23:56

    One thing most observers would say is that the once famed but recently under performing West Ham United Academy has finally come through with a new bunch of youngsters who are genuinely contenders for a first team place. To some sending Reece Burke and Josh Cullen out on loan to Bolton Wanderers might seem a negative step with regards to the player's development, but they are going to work with a manager they already know, and more importantly are guaranteed playing time. It took Ed Jnr to fully focus this dinosaur of a writer to realise just how good Declan Rice is, his performances in the friendlies so far surely indicate he can step in to the void that has been provided by the recent injury to Cheik Kouyate. Make no mistake, Masuaku and Rice have been the main winners in the pre season run outs, Snodgrass on the other hand has been woeful, perhaps he should shave his beard off, at least it would make him look younger!- Ed

    Share

  • Ayew

    Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 12:45

    Forums:

    seems so long ago now that we overlook the fact that he as our big summer signing last year. most people think he's not up to it, the 20 mill paid was too much. perhaps it was. although looking at how the market is nowadays, you can argue thats the price of a prem league player these days. for me i believe in Ayew. I think he is a quality player. i think he was a good signing. I'm open to debate of course and everyone's opinion is welcome. my view is that last season he moved to a new club but then got injured immediately on his debut. it wasnt just a knock either, he was out a good while. then he went off to ANC and looked half injured there. he still managed a good few goals though during the second half of the season. its my view that he has the energy and eye for goal that will prove useful for us this season. i see him playing behind hernandez in the three (lanzini, arnautovic and him) while antonio is out. when antonio is back then its a case of playing him when we need to rest others or replace them i guess. either way, i can see him being an asset even if coming off the bench.

  • Money has ruined the game

    Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 08:19

    Forums:

    reading ANTKB post about the women's football and also the general comments made about football these days, its pretty obvious that money has destroyed the game. i think because its 'crept' in we've digested it and somehow accepted it. however i think we (fans of all teams) have realised that the game we used to love to watch is dead and in its place is some Khardasian reality show. we've been fed all this nonsense about players 'playing too much football', needing to be rested for 60 mins of a game, being taken off 15 mins early to 'rest them'. i remember (showing my age) looking back on the cup final of 1980, i was very young then so it became more relevant when i watched it over later. but we had one substitute. players went out on the pitch with no desire whatsoever to not play 90 mins in those days. in fact injuries and all, they carried on. if you were still breathing then there was football to be played. i know the argument is that the game has improved, that the pace is much faster, that the players are fine tuned in fitness etc. but theres a fundamental lack of desire, courage and work ethic that has been lost along the way. its all down to the money. its crept its way into the game like a cancer and now the game is rotten to the core even at international level. we see players demanding a new contract, being given one and then demanding to leave the club a few months later. we see players refusing to play in certain positions or to a certain style. is it modern mentality or simply because their lives are so cushy that theres no need for them to be loyal and work hard? look at ravel morrison, a player with great potential. given chance after chance and squandered. would he have squandered those chances if he wasnt a millionaire? a millionaire for what has amounted to a pretty average at best career too. people argue but it cuts both ways, the clubs show no loyalty to players so why should they? but how can clubs show loyalty when the players are the ones with all the power to do as they please? back in years gone by the atmosphere between players and clubs was that the player was grateful for the opportunity, was rewarded for good performance with his pay packet and if told he wasnt moving clubs, then he wasnt moving clubs end of. if the club sold him, then so be it. its amazing how the game has changed. big clubs like arsenal and barcelona now being ruled by player power. you can argue but its fairer, the player gets to decide on his future just as an employee at a company would do. yes, true. but the game is in ruins. clubs are simply vessels for players to move to and from in search of the best pay packet and highest profile for themselves. thats the nature of the modern game. add to this the ticket prices we now pay and we see its us who's funding the lavish lifestyles of the greedy players. its us that watch it on t.v and pay sky or whoever for the privilege who in turn plough money into the players pockets. football is a business yes, but its not like the everyday high street business. its also a sport. personally the biggest mistake made imo is that no one decided that a wage cap, transfer cap etc should be enforced years back. we're now at 220 mill or so for a player…instead of players being worth a new car or house, they are now worth the cost of building a new stadium. huh? instead of buying Neymar, PSG could buy a new stadium….thats where we've got to.

  • Made me laugh

    ANTKB's picture
    Submitted by ANTKB on Wed, 02/08/2017 - 00:29

    Forums:

    Watching the womens Euros the other night and a female ex-England star was asked what was required of England? Her response was old school 'get in their faces, leave a foot in and let them know you are there!' The commentator then turns to ex-Spuds player Jermain Jenas to ask his opinion, but he notices Jermain looking unsteady and looking behind him and comments on the fact that 'you are obviously worried about the sprinklers getting you wet again?' I then watched the game and noticed that despite the England keeper being obviously injured and refusing a stretcher, she left the field but clearly not willingly. I have just heard that she had in fact broken her leg!

    How embarassing are modern day PL footballers in comparison to our fantastic laides? No comparison, as I didn't see anyone diving/cheating and I saw nothing but pride and passion in wearing the lions on the shirt. Your views and opinions?

  • Altona93 v West Ham United Matchday Squads

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 01/08/2017 - 12:28

    Altona 93: Du Preez, Aniteye, Correia Ca, Yilmaz, Wachowski, Hosseini, Lechler, Hinze, Sachs, Brisevac, Kunter, Holz, Rettstadt, Dogan, Novotny, Grundmann, Cayir, Schultz, Siebert, Edeling, Matthai, Thiessen, Grubba, Buzhala
    West Ham United: Adrian, Hart, Matrevics, Byram, Zabaleta, Cresswell, Masuaku, Collins, Ogbonna, Fonte, Reid, Burke, Rice, Makasi, Lanzini, Snodgrass, Obiang, Fernandes, Cullen, Holland, Arnautovic, Ayew, Martinez, Chicharito

    Share

Pages

Next Fixture(s)

Subscribe to Forum | Non-Football Related