Freiburg: Atubolu, Sildillia, Ginter (C), Lienhart, Sallai, Eggestein, Höfler, Kübler, Adamu, Grifo, Höler
West Ham: Fabianski (C), Coufal, Kehrer, Mavropanos, Aguerd, Fornals, Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Bowen, Kudus
Subs: Areola, Anang, Zouma, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Soucek, Coventry, Emerson, Mubama
David Moyes has confirmed Michail Antonio will NOT be leading the line in tonight's away game against Freiburg, neither will Aaron Cresswell nor Ben Johnson. Aaron Cresswell, despite his years of great service, is viewed by many fans as a liability, especially in European matches given his propensity to give away fouls due to his lack of pace, which saw him pick up two red cards during the club's last Europa Cup campaign.
Ben Johnson on the other hand WILL be missed, and this fixture was a chance for him to prove he is worth retaining when the January transfer window opens up, unfortunately he has picked up a 'niggle' in training and won't travel with the rest of the squad.
Johnson's absence means Emerson will have to play with no natural back up in his defensive position. Moyes would have liked to keep the ex-Chelsea player fresh for Sunday's crucial game against the high flying Toon, but alas that will not be the case!
Upfront Moyes WILL have the opportunity to start Mo Kudus ahead of 'Uncle Ingy', Kudus has more than proved how devastating he can be in Europe this season, signing off with a first half hat trick in what was hist last appearance for Ajax before signing for the Irons.
Kudus could be joined up front by Divin Mubama who thoroughly deserves the CHANCE TO LEAD THE LINE, especially if he has Kudus to pull the opposition apart! This game really represents an ideal opportunity for BOTH players to make their mark and it is hoped that Moyes makes the most of it.
If this seems harsh on Ings then maybe it is, but he has shown little if any reason to start ahead of Kudus or Mubama, he simply doesn't have the pace to fit into Myes' counter attacking template, why he was signed on such big money and for so much money is still a mystery, but Villa must have been laughing all the way to the bank!
Moyes also has to decide whether to feature the club's talisman Lucas Paqueta. He would obviously prefer to rest him ahead of the Too game, but can he risk it? He may well elect to have Lucas on the bench in case his magic is needed to help the club achieve their own bit of European history by winning or drawing tonight.
No away fans due to the ludicrous sanction handed out by UEFA, but the players DO HAVE what it takes, but the manager needs to be bold for this 'early' fixture which kicks off at 17:45 Hrs BST. It will be a tough match in a hostile environment, but these are the games a club has to win to confirm they really are 'Euro Winners'. - Ed
The interviewers a bit of a Knob but loved this interview.
New that post headline would raise a few hackles on here! but this is my point a Kaneless spuds after a terrible season and playing shite football suddenly play fast attacking flowing football that has them currently second in the league and the poor dears fans dreaming of winning the league as they have no European football and only one game a week until the F.A. Cup in January.
Now we have not started badly at all but we dont do free flowing we are more methodical and well at times for me negative, We have players more than equal to the spuds and yet we play with a leash on and it is annoying for me because i feel it is holding us back at times.
Look at how the spuds manager uses his subs he hauls off so called untouchables and they don't whinge or throw a hissy fit they get off and the side does not back away from going forward still yet we dither over when a sub clearly needs to be made and lets face it unless we have a bad injury during the game we all know who is going to be subbed in and out of nearly every game and the time it will happen.
The low block they say draw teams on they say hit fast on the counter they say well i say why not play on the front foot have more faith in our ability to put most teams to the sword playing that way then concentrate on defending our lead if you will.
Methodical it gets results they say and yes that maybe the case but we can be so much more but this Sunday against the barcodes expect to see every player including Ants inside our own half from the off because the poor dears played Thursday evening and had to go allllllllll the way to Germany and back. My point being we give the initiative to our opponents week in week out and we are more about stopping the opposition playing than letting them worry about us.
Football for me should be about enjoyment and appreciating good performances and whilst we have done well so far this season we are never easy on the eye to watch and we can be so so much better if the man in charge let the players show us that but he never will.
So the media will say things like West Ham a tough place to go and get a result and in the same breath talk about the Spuds in the title race and playing attractive free flowing football so if they can do that why can we not?
Spuds win the league of course not but it is funny we are never mentioned in that way.
Freiburg(froderick)next been watching them play this afternoon and if we apply ourselves properly we should win...yeah yeah jinx it you say but its West ham we will do whatever we are going to do lol....listening to the commentators the side have not had the best of starts and sound like us when he said you do not know what freiburg side will show up...but watching the game they do look open at the back and set pieces they do not look great at defending.....So Ants with the right application could well fill his boots here they have a couple of tricky widemen but coufal(Kehrer?)and Emerson more than capable dealing with them....no official hammers fans allowed so the players need to quieten the crowd early doors for me and put a lot of doubts in there minds.....COYI lets have another great european night abroad but remember Don't mention the war!
David Moyes enjoyed Hammers 'stroll in the park' against Sheffield United as he reached his 900th top flight game as a manager by heaping more pain on the struggling Blades, or Blunts as they are often derogatively referred to.
Although the score line was not as comprehensive as some had hoped for it was still a win AND a clean sheet.
Having been crushed 8-0 at home by Newcastle the previous week the visitors were surely going to put a shift in to try and restore their pride, but try as they might they did little if anything to trouble Alphonse Areola in Hammers goal.
Jarrod Bowen stroked home his fifth goal in seven Premier League games this season to put Hammers ahead following some beautiful build up play and then Tomas Soucek, the 'real Tomy' who missing most of last season, squeezed home a second despite heavy pressure from the ragged defenders.
West Ham never looked as if they were going to 'tonk' the visitors, but the margin of victory could have been far greater had Michail Antonio and others not squandered the ample first-half opportunities they were presented with.
Soucek side-footed over an easy chance, while Sheffield keeper Wes Foderingham saved a Bowen header and Nayef Aguerd's follow-up was cleared off the line, while Michail Antonio also curled just wide with his 2nd 'gift'.
McBurnie scuffed wide for the visitors just after the Hammers' second and although Sheffield improved after the break, Alphonse Areola only had one save of note to make from Anel Ahmedhodzic's close range header.
The three points were more than useful as Moyes and his men looked to get back on track following successive defeats by Manchester City and Liverpool.
West Ham remain seventh in the league, whereas the Blades are rock bottom with just one point from seven games. Freiburg are up next in the Europa League for Moyes' men, followed by the home fixture against Newcastle ahead of yet another International break. - Ed
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Zouma (c), Aguerd, Emerson, Soucek, Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Bowen, Antonio. Subs: Fabianski, Kudus, Fornals, Mavropanos, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Kehrer.
Sheffield: Foderingham, Amedhodzic, Egan (c), Robinson, Bogle, Souza, Hamer, McAtee, Thomas, Archer, McBurnie. Subs: Davies, Trusty, Basham, Brewster, Traore, Norwood, Davies, Slimane, Larouci.
Hammers welcome Sheffield United for today's home game, there has been SOME mention of past events in the run up to the game, but to clarify things we thought we would add some additional information for those not in the know.
There are many of the 'new generation' of Hammers fans who only have vague memories of the 'Carlos Tevez' saga. Javier Mascherano's role in the story has almost been completely forgotten despite his arrival at the same time as Tevez.
To briefly sum up the events for those who were too young to remember, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were two of the best players in Argentina who suddenly arrived at West Ham as two new signings that even the manager at the time Alan Pardew had no prior knowledge of!
The players arrival was 'arranged' by a company called Media Sports Investments (MSI) in addition to Just Sports Incorporated, Global Soccer Agencies (GSA) and Mystere Services Limited who were fronted by Kia Joorabchian who thought that he had an 'arrangement' in place to purchase West Ham from the majority shareholder Terrence Brown. Tevez and Mascherano hailed from the São Paulo club Corinthians and were baffled at their final destination.
Brown then reneged on the take over deal, having suddenly been offered twice the price that Iranian born Joorabchian had offered, by the 'biscuit baron' Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, an Icelandic billionaire who installed Eggert Magnusson as chairman.
This course of events totally put Joorabchian's nose out of joint and he began a revenge mission to 'put things right'. It should also be mentioned that MSI the company Joorabchian represented were linked with some rather shady deals for players in South America that were rumoured to be part of a huge money laundering enterprise. The activities of MSI were investigated but witnesses withdrew their statements and any pending prosecutions were shelved.
Tevez did play a role in Hammers survival in the top flight that season, scoring a memorable goal against Manchester United that kept the Irons up, whereas Macherano was a total failure and contributed little to no assistance in the 'great escape' as it was called.
Sheffield Utd were relegated that season and as soon as the ownership issues relating to Tevez and Mascherano were made public by guess who, the Blades sued for damages and requested that West Ham be relegated in their stead. The Premier League flatly refused 'retrospective' action but fined West Ham £5 Million for incorrect registration of player details due to the players' joint ownership with third parties.
Not content with Hammers being fined, Joorabchian forced the issue into the public domain and gave his unofficial backing to the blades. He also enlisted the assistance of a certain Sky Sports TV reporter who acted as a Blades mouthpiece throughout the subsequent 'trial' brought about by Sheffield United who claimed and were granted £20 Million in damages as a result of their relegation!
The hypocritical,part of the story is that the 'dual ownership' issue suddenly dissapeared and Tevez was allowed to sign for Manchester United and Mascherano was allowed to sign for Liverpool, the 'elite' teams getting their way, now isn't that a co-incidence?
It was OK for United and The Pool to deal with shady companies but NOT for little old West Ham! Of course in the event Sheffield failed to return to the top flight and squandered the money received, further more it should be remembered that Sheffield failed over the course of an entire season to survive and that the South American duo hardly played for West Ham initially!
A certain faction of Sheffield fans still blame West Ham for their demise as opposed to criticising their manager or owners, including Sean 'Huge MOUTH' Bean who did his level best to drag Hammers name through the mud. This writer was actually at the 'hearing' that authorised the compensation payment but refused to dock Hammers points, again a certain TV presenter was there doing his upmost to besmirch Hammers but eventually failed.
Joorbachian got his revenge, Blades got their cash and the TV presenter got his moment of fame! Hammers paid a hefty price and their fans watched on as Tevez and Mascherano 'ripped up' the Premier league. So if anyone is entitled to 'sour grapes' they are the supporters of West Ham, NOT Sheffield United. - Ed
West Ham United's 4th round 'League Cup' clash with Arsenal will be held on the 1st of November and will be televised on Sky Sports. Conspiracy theorists will believe that the only reason the game is being domestically broadcast is to help the visitors play in front of a less than full stadium.
With the game being played on a Wednesday evening there is the potential for a reduced attendance, much will depend on the ticket pricing and it is hoped that the club will be sympathetic in that respect to many fans who are already feeling the pinch with 'sky high' energy costs and raging food price inflation.
Due to Hammers 'unique' rental agreement for the still unnamed London Stadium, it makes sense to offer very 'reasonably' priced tickets to the club's fan base in order to ensure a full house or as close to it as is humanly possible. Having to face Arsenal is not ideal but at least they are London rivals and not a team from Manchester, who Hammers always seem to get, or indeed Liverpool who crop up, far too often!
The fixture will be the Irons third of THREE games in SIX days, with the games against Olympiakos and Everton preceding it, so David Moyes will have to make full use of the squad he has available with many 'fronge' players surely getting a run out.
Three games in six days is the price that has to be paid for being a top club and as everybody knows, "West Ham are massive" so it comes with the territory! - ED
West Ham United have been drawn at home against local rivals Arsenal for the next round of the League Cup, not perhaps the draw people were hoping for but at least it will be a home tie. Games will be played the week commencing the 30th of October with the ties being organised to accommodate both West Ham and Arsenal's European competition commitments.
Hammers ex-captain and talisman Declan Rice will return 'home' for the fixture in what will be an enthralling contest!-Ed
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