Forum | Non-Football Related

Hammers host arguably the best team in World club football managed by the probably the best manager in existence tomorrow in London with few people giving the home team a prayer against the imperious 'Citizens'. On paper that assumption is correct and it is very likely the Irons will lose their unbeaten status in the Premier League.

That said, the 'gulf' between both teams HAS narrowed since the days when ex-City manager Manuel Pellegrini managed the Irons, then a three, four or five nil drubbing was the usual outcome! However, while tomorrow's game is still likely to end in defeat for David Moyes' team, the margin may well not be as marked as before.

Players like Lucas Paqueta, Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus have NOT been mesmerised and down trodden by City repeatedly, unlike many of the 'old hands' at the club. While they acknowledge City's stunning squad, they are NOT overawed by taking on Manchester's best team, in fact they relish being up against 'top' opposition and look forward to matching up with their opponents.

Back in the day many teams were defeated before they even took to the pitch when facing Liverpool or Manchester United in their pomp, but that has ALL changed now due to the funding available for 'lesser' teams to compete in the transfer market.

Make no mistake, it will be an incredibly difficult ask for WEst Ham to get anything out of tomorrow's game, but that doesn't mean that they can't give it a damn good try! Urged on by what will be a packed Stadium there is every possibility of upsetting City's imperious form, after all, Football is played on grass, not paper.

Of course on paper City definitely have the edge, but they are vulnerable SOMETIMES, it is to be hoped that Hammers can upset the apple cart and at least get a point from the game. There are enough talented players in Moyes' squad to do some damage, IF they are all firing on ALL cylinders.

Danny Ings shouldn't feature at all, as his chronic lack of pace will be exposed, the same goes for Aaron Cresswell. Divin Mubama and Mohammed Kudus MUST be on the pitch ahead of Ings, it is the ONLY way Hammers stand a chance! Moyes has to be brave AND innovative in his team selection AND his use of substitutes, no longer does he need to have two goal keepers on the bench, there are plenty of hungry and determined players available now who can't wait to get on the field of play.

Be bold Moysie, there is absolutely NO point in handing ALL the possession to City like in the games against Brighton and Chelsea, it simply will NOT work. The Hammers manager needs to 'mix things up' a little for his team to stand any chance....as the game is considered to be a 'dead rubber' why not take a few risks?

At least he can say he tried! - Ed

Having witnessed Harry 'Mc'Guire' scoring Scotland's only goal in their 3-1 defeat by England, many fans who hadn't already asked the question "why on earth were Hammers pursuing the signing of the Manchester United ex-captain?" will now have had there answer!

It was plain for all to see just how awful Maguire is as a defender, clearly devoid of confidence the 30 year old failed to perform on the one platform where he HAD excelled, namely playing for a supportive manager in the form of England's Gareth Southgate who is known for the loyalty he shows players that have performed for him in the past.

Last night Maguire's performance 'stank the house out' from which there can surely be no return, either internationally, nor if Ten Hag has anything to do with it, domestically. Seeing Konstantinos Mitraponis's performance for Greece, the player Hammers snapped up instead of Maguire compared to the latter's performance for England was like chalk and cheese!

Hammers clearly dodged a bullet by NOT paying out an eye watering £30 Million for a 30 year old on a massive £130,000 per week who's form had dropped off the cliff and who would clearly have absolutely NO SELL ON value at the end of the three year contract offer that was apparently on the table!

Fortunately the players desire to NOT relinquish the remainder of his £300,000 per week contract (including his mandatory Champions League wage increase he was awarded) meant the deal didn't go through, hallelujah!

However we have to return to the question as tio why Maguire was targeted in the first place, or should we say 'Taggarted!" The answer does look a bit like a 'Scottish Detective' plot line, "who put the LSD in to the football manager's cup of tea?"

What else could explain the Hammers manager's almost psychotic pursuit of Maguire from the club that sacked David Moyes after he took over from Sir Alex Ferguson? If word is to believed, not only was Moyes to spend a third of the Declan Rice money onMaguire, but he was also willing to make him among the club's biggest earners AND hand him the captaincy!

Well, either Moyes had completely lost his marbles, gone temporarily insane or been slipped something very psychedelic in his tea! Perhaps when Tim Steidten arrived he recognised something in Moyes that was a 'bit off' and therefore decided he needed placating, so he fed him the James Ward-Prowse signing because he could see some value in it, but stonewalled the Maguire madness.

As the effects of whatever had been 'influencing' Moyes' poor judgement wore off he was able to sit down and rationally discuss transfer targets, the bulk of which eventually arrived just in the nick of time. Hammers and Moyes dodged the equivalent to a uranium depleted bullet by NOT signing Maguire....just be careful who you accept a nice cuppa from in the future Mr Moyes if it has come from ANY source connected with Manchester United! - Ed (posted on return journey from NY)

Following on from our West Ham are massive missive, we thought we should reaffirm the lack of real Hammers news during the International break. Sites that rely on click through revenue will come up with anything and everything in order to maintain their revenues, which of course they are perfectly entitled to do and indeed in most cases need to do in order to pay their running costs.

There are still some that don't, Ian Dale's excellent www.westhamtillidie.com being a perfect example, a site that only runs articles that are relevant and in their opinion truthful, as does www.kumb.com. It might seem churlish to 'take the high ground' regarding content, but players and their families read virtually ALL the sites containing articles about them and sometimes the articles can do a lot more harm than good!

Speculation is the key 'tool' used, swiftly followed by the 'opinion' article and finally the beloved statistic driven comments. Unfortunately, if you spread enough, shall we call lies, some of them will stick. There has been SO MUCH negative press during the International break regarding Hammers that you would think the club was in turmoil!

The negativity really doesn't do any good at all. The fact that one player gets targeted after the next is not only lazy journalism but a clear example of those who pretend to support the club but are happy to send its players 'down the river' when it suits them.

Tomy Soucek has come in for unbelievable criticism from people who have never kicked a ball in anger and constant sniping about Pablo Fornals lack of game time has clearly muddied the water regarding a player who is actually held in really high esteem both by his fellow players AND the entire management team.

There is a whole list of players who have been targeted right through the club, from first teamers to U-18's, it is to be hoped that fans can see through this negativity and realise that the club is in fine fettle and on an upward trajectory many many clubs and their supporters envy, at least privately if not publicly.

So don't believe all the drivel you read during the International break, 99% is just 'column filler' and or click bait! Give your eyes a rest and wait until 'real' football is back, you haven't got long to wait. - Ed Posted from New York, hence weird time frame!