West Ham United v Stoke City Confirmed Team Sheets @ 2pm
Team sheets should be here by 2pm as long as the data situation is OK at the London Stadium - Ed
Forum | Non-Football Related
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It's Not Just The London Stadium That Has Issues
Fifa has expressed its concerns over a shaking pitch at one of Russia's 2018 World Cup venues. The £550m 68,000-seater stadium in St Petersburg has a retractable playing surface which world football's governing body says is unstable.
It added: "Engineers will propose a solution to ensure a stable field." The issue is that the field rolls into the venue on an unstable base and needs to be strengthened The Krestovsky Stadium, which will become the home of Zenit St Petersburg, will host a World Cup semi-final and 2017 Confederations Cup games. Russia's deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko said: "The issue is that the field rolls into the venue on an unstable base and needs to be strengthened."
He said the problem was "nothing unusual" and the stadium would still meet its completion date next month. Russia MP and former USSR player Valery Gazzaev added: "If the pitch is unsuited to holding such major events, then why has it been built?" Russian opposition blogger Rustem Adagamov wrote on Twitter: "Just what we need, to spend 10 years building a stadium, spend half a billion dollars, and build a pitch you can't play on. Awesome."
It's good to know that cock ups are a universal thing, now if they looked at violence in Russian football they really would open a can of worms! - Ed
LLDC Chair Quits-Carroll Escapes Gunmen-Normal WHU Day!
The media LOVE West Ham United at the moment, where else are they guaranteed such copious amounts of tasty morsels? There is currently a smorgasbord of items available for those with their snouts in the trough, whether it be the Chairman of the LLDC resigning as a consequence of the London Stadium's spiraling costs or massively expensive and injury prone striker Andy Carroll being chased at gun point, just another day at West Ham! Although the pantomime season hasn't really started elsewhere, it has surely already begun for West Ham,"look behind you"! Hammers have become the 'pantomime villains' and don't the media love to perpetuate the situation?
David Edmonds, the chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) who are the owners of West Ham’s London Stadium, has resigned after Sadiq Khan ordered an inquiry into the cost of the ground, he was only appointed chairman just over a year ago in September 2015 and has ended his tenure after it emerged that the cost of converting the arena for West Ham had risen by £51million.
Mayor of London Khan demanded an investigation after being told that the conversion cost, to which West Ham contributed £15m, had increased to £323m. That took the total cost to the taxpayer of the London Stadium to £752m.
Edmonds has been a board member of the LLDC and its predecessor, the Olympic Park Legacy Company, since 2010 and chaired E20 LLP, the joint venture between Newham Borough and the LLDC that is responsible for the stadium,
the price of retractable seating has become a key issue, rising from a predicted £300,000 to £8million, with the company behind the original proposal, Alto Seating Solutions, having gone into liquidation.
The 15 days required to change the stadium from an athletics to football mode also means that West Ham are unlikely to be able to play a home game at the London Stadium until September next season, with the World Athletics Championships taking place in Stratford until August 13th.
Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe said earlier this week that the investigation into the costs of the former Olympic Stadium would consider all aspect of the ground’s management to understand why its cost had skyrocketed, however he conceded that there was little possibility of renegotiating the original deal with West Ham, which commits the ground’s tenants to paying £2.5m per annum in rent.PERHAPS THE PRESS SHOULD GO BACK TO CALLING WEST HAM'S GROUND THE OLYMPIC STADIUM! IF IT HAD BEEN DESIGNED ON THE SAME BASIS AS THE COMMONWEALTH STADIUM THE COSTS WOULD BE MINIMAL!
If anyone is to be blamed for the Olympic Stadium debacle it should be Lord Coe, not him on his own, but the deluded thought that athletics would be sustainable on a regular basis once the Olympics had been held, there it is the word sustainable which is usually followed pretty quickly by the word 'legacy'. The Commonwealth stadium was conceived with reality in mind and from the outset Manchester City council involved City football club in the design and infrastructure process clearly realising that the only 'legacy' for the Stadium was for it to host football as it's key purpose as soon as the games had finished, thus relieving the tax payer of the burden. Eventually the conversion cost was around £50 Million, a fraction of what it has cost to convert the Olympic Stadium because it was NOT designed with a realistic eye on the future.
Of course it is much easier to blame West Ham for decisions they had nothing to do with, in fact the club should be commended for attempting to make a silk purse out of a pig's ear!IN OTHER NEWS
Andy Carroll, himself a great provider of media copy, was apparently confronted by gunmen shortly after leaving training (many fans thought he was still unable to train, so the potential assailants couldn't have been disgruntled west ham fans!) On Wednesday night a police statement said: ‘The two men threatened the driver. The motorcyclists attempted to block the car as the driver sought to get away. The suspects rode off prior to the arrival of police. There has been no arrest.’ Police are continuing their investigations. A club statement said: ‘West Ham United can confirm an incident targeting one of our players on Wednesday 2nd of November. The matter is now being handled by the police.’ They are expected to step up patrols and security in the area.
Never a dull moment at West Ham is there? Currently just a normal day though! - Ed
Gunshy Andy
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Sky Sports reporting that Carroll was held up at gun point after training on Wednesday.
I heard it was David Sullivan trying to claw back some of the wages Andy continues to pick up despite his clear objective to never play again!West Ham and The Poppy
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Dear West Ham fans, my name is Chris and I work for The Royal British Legion.
I just wanted to let everyone on the forum know that during West Ham’s game versus Stoke City both clubs will wear shirts embroidered with a poppy in show of Remembrance. These shirts will be signed and auctioned with all proceeds kindly donated to the Legion.
West Ham FC have been big supporters of the Legion by displaying the poppy on their shirt, allowing us to raise incredible amounts to support the future of the living and also help us uphold the memory of fallen.
If you would like to own a piece of the Hammer’s memorabilia whilst also supporting the Legion please keep a look out on the club’s official channels for when the auction goes live in late November/early Dec
For more information on our partnership with the all Premier League clubs and the Poppy Appeal please visit http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/partner-with-us/premier-lea...
Many thanks for reading, and to the moderators, apologies if this appears to be an advert-type post
Cassiobury Court offers free help and advice for veterans who suffer with addiction and mental health problems. For more information, click here.Sakho, Wherefore Art Thou?
Wherefore "the cause or intention underlying an action or situation" Even though you might think wherefore means "where," it really means the "why" behind something. Possibly the most famous use of the word is in "Romeo and Juliet," when Juliet says, "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" She doesn't mean "where are you?" but "why are you Romeo," or "why do you have to be a Montague, enemy of my family?"
Sounds a bit romantic doesn't it? Well there's definitely no romance involved when it comes to Diafra Sakho and West Ham United, the issue is whether the 'montague' aspect relates to the player's relationship with manager Slaven Billic, or with the Hammers hierarchy of Lady Brady and Messrs Gold & Sullivan! What is undeniable is that somewhere along the line something has gone badly wrong, David Sullivan 'over rode' Sam Allardyce when it came to recruiting 'Daffy' from FC Metz, so keen was the West Ham United co-owner to acquire the services of the Senegalese forward that he turned a proposed loan deal in to a permanent one, and so pleased was Mr Sullivan with Sakho's performances and attitude that the player was very quickly offered vastly improved terms and a contract extension! Everything was going swimmingly until the 'Sakman' went off on international duty, where his team doctor did his very best to cripple his player with some 'unconventional' back manipulation that caused a massive back problem which in turn 'disturbed' his body equilibrium ending in the need for an operation that he has not fully recovered from even now! Sakho then had the misfortune to see his child taken away to France by it's mother with whom he had endured a fractious relationship, leaving Sakho alone and injured and more importantly very vulnerable and in need of some support and sympathy (some might say it is hard to feel sympathy for someone who earns more money in a year than they will in a lifetime!).
Unfortunately and ironically, due to the impressive season with the team under the guidance of 'suave' Slaven Billic instead of the dour Sam Allardyce, expectations grew to an unrealistic level, a level that required a 'marquee' signing in order for the club to 'move forward', especially given the migration from the Old Boleyn Ground to The London Stadium, however at this point things started to go awry. With the benefit of hindsight the situation is plain to see, Sakho at the very time when he needed the most support, found himself as 'yesterday's man, and maybe something became lost either in translation or the club's desire to ensure all the season tickets got sold, but whatever the cause the effect was to disenfranchise a forward who in today's inflated market is probably worth between £15-20 Million before organising his replacement! Ludicrous, Stupid, Conceited call it what you will, but those labels refer to who ever thought they could publicly 'flirt' with every european big time charlie sniffing around for big bucks without upsetting one of their previous stalwarts! Crazy, it could only happen at West Ham, so what is the solution?..............David Sullivan needs to spend a little time with Diafra Sakho preferably in the company of Dimitri Payet (both speak french as their first language) and any good interpreter who understands football, Joey Barton's services are available during his hiatus from Rangers!
Joking aside, even a not fully fit Sakho represents a far better option upfront than Simone Zaza, and maybe it is about time a few heads were knocked together and then a line drawn in the sand, West Ham United do not have the luxury of limitless funding and therefore have to cut their cloth according to what is available. Moody, Doomy or even want away, Diafra Sakho could lift the spirits of West Ham fans by returning to the field of play, his energy and dynamism have been sorely missed, if it is all about injury then all stops must be pulled out in order to get him back to full fitness, if there is another agenda it will become clearer as the opening of the January transfer window approaches! - Ed
Seen enough….
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no not to give up but that we can do ok this season. i think now that bilic to his credit has changed the shape of the team to a back 3 we look a lot more composed on and off the ball. yesterday first half we were pretty good imo just as usual lacking up front. cress well had a quiet game though and that was a surprise as this formation is well suited to him. perhaps koeman did a job on him. on the other side i thought fernandez was pretty impressive. he looks to be probably the best summer signing although we can't comment yet on ayew. i did feel bilic deserves credit for putting antonio up front…most managers these days would be terrified of moving a winger up front. although he doesnt have the cutting edge of a striker he does use his power and pace to good effect up there. its not ideal though at this level. it did seem a little odd seeing valencia in the stands when he could well be useful on our bench, poor that he is he is better than Zaza. Zaza looks like he belongs on an italian fishing trawler hauling in nets with that beard and those tattoos. he has had his chance and offers nothing even coming off the bench. we would have been far better putting ayew up front and either putting antonio wide and moving fernandez inside or simply taking antonio off at that point. for me ayew is the best option we have up front at the moment. i must say fred was right about kouyate…he looks a lot better at the back and his ability to roam forward like a sweeper is a benefit.
Everton FC v West Ham United Confirmed Team Sheets
Everton: Robles, Coleman, Williams , Funes Mori ,Oviedo ,Gueye ,Barry ,Barkley ,Mirallas ,R Lukaku ,Bolasi
Subs :Jagielka ,Deulofeu ,Lennon ,Cleverley ,Calvert-Lewin ,Holgate ,Hewelt.
West Ham: Adrian San Miguel ,Cheikhou Kouyate ,Winston Reid ,Angelo Ogbonna ,Edimilson Fernandes ,Mark Noble ,Pedro Obiang ,Aaron Cresswell ,Michail Antonio ,Dimitri Payet ,Manuel Lanzini.
Subs: Havard Nordtveit ,Sofiane Feghouli ,Simone Zaza , Darren Randolph,James Collins ,Andre Ayew ,Ashley Fletcher.
Stadium Fall Out, Daily Star To The Rescue?
One of the red tops, the Daily Star, not usually known for it's journalistic credibility, actually published a couple of articles that tried to concentrate on the view of West Ham fans who had attended the 2 - 1 victory over Chelsea at the London Stadium, one line of investigation also focused on a post featured on a west ham website posted by a 'chelsea head hunter', the text follows but it is not exactly clear on which site it appeared, as generally only 'approved' members post on sites, perhaps this 'character' slipped under the radar!
<“You ICF (West Ham firm) s***s are gonna get what you’ve had coming for years a right good shoeing”
The sickening message appears to have been posted by a fan claiming to be a Chelsea Headhunter on a West Ham fans’ forum, It reads: “You ICF (West Ham firm) s***s are gonna get what you’ve had coming for years a right good shoeing.
“You’ve hid behind your lies and you’re cockney wide boy films and books but anyone who was there know the Headhunters were THE firm.” Since the 70s the Chelsea Headhunters – which had National Front links – have terrorised opposition fans across the country. Ageing yobs leading the firm have either been jailed or drifted away from football hooliganism in recent years. But ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League match with Paris St Germain in 2014 cries of “Headhunters” were heard as fans clashed in the French capital. The Met Police had been working tirelessly with West Ham to ensure wednesday's game at the London Stadium passed as peacefully as possible.
Chillingly the fan’s online post warned how “good numbers” of Chelsea fans have tickets for West Ham sections of the stadium.>
Until the segregation issue, including creating a 'safe' zone for fans to and from the Stadium, is resolved there are likely to be more instances of intentional hooliganism. The situation is compounded by the fact that in the absence of official protection fans may take to arranging their own defence, this would be a terrible situation but one that could occur unless there is a positive and swift outcome to the problem. All is not lost though, and the situation is redeemable, it just needs those in control to look at the bigger and long term picture and ensure that they show responsibility for the thousands of fans with families who have signed up for season tickets to see football not fights. - Ed
Disproportinate Media Coverage Blights Fine Hammers Victory
Firstly we would like to confirm this site despises the 'return of the knuckle draggers' in any way shape or form irrespective of which team they support, West Ham United's EFL match against Chelsea at the London Stadium was always going to be under heavy scrutiny for a multitude of historical reasons, and many of those reasons had agendas both hidden and overt! The London Stadium is an 'easy hit' when it comes to reporting, the way that West Ham United acquired the Stadium has long been a source of jealousy and envy, so any opportunity to give the club a 'press kicking' is taken up with gusto!
The area of trouble was the same as had been on the previous matches, essentially the dividing line between home and away supporters. Eventually the penny will drop that away fans need to be placed 'up in the gods' rather than pitch side as well, by moving the away support up in the stands the area of confrontation will be limited and the opportunity for face to face confrontation could be better handled. As it is the 'board walk' from the pitch level passes directly underneath both home and away fans and acts a trigger/pinch point for either set of fans who attend for reasons other than just watching a football match.
To put things in perspective, last night's violence, while deplorable, especially given the amount of children in attendance, was NOT a throw back to the 70's when, believe you me, there really was a problem! Last night was all 'handbags' compared to the dark days, but the rows of empty seats served as proof that many season ticket holders avoided the game because they knew there was going to be a certain amount of 'aggro', however there were others who had their families with them who didn't want their stadium to become a no go area and attended despite their fears.
Because the Press have focused so much on the crowd situation at the London Stadium, old and young 'geezers' have crawled out from under the rocks they generally inhabit in order to try an attend matches they can get tickets for purely for the chance to resurrect the bad old days. A bit more match coverage might show events in a truer light, but as it is West Ham are 'cheap' copy for the media at the moment, which is such a pity because Chelsea were beaten fair and square, and you can guarantee if they had won the crowd trouble that happened would have been far less if any! - Ed
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