Forum | Non-Football Related

First home fixture of the season, capacity crowd, Sunny afternoon and the visit of one of the club's fiercest rivals, what more could a fan want? Well a 3-1 victory after going down to ten men might do, mightn't it? Throw in your new first choice goalkeeper saving a pen at a crucial stage in the game and you kind of get the picture!

All eyes were on Lucas Paqueta from the off and when he picked up his USUAL yellow card there were fears he would pick up a second and get himself sent off. Instead it was Nayef Aguerd who had that dubious honour, under the new rulings he was bang to rights and his dismissal in the 68th minute with Hammers struggling to hold on to their 2-1 lead was seemingly going to be too much and that the visitors would run riot.

Instead the "Billion Pound Team" huffed and they puffed but they could not penetrate an airtight Hammers defence well marshalled by captain Kurt Zouma and added to by the introduction of Edson Alvarez who made an instant impact and endeared himself to the home fans in a heartbeat with his tough uncompromising tackling!

Earlier in the game Aguerd was the hero as he scored within the first seven minutes, but as usual Hammers sat back and invited Chelsea on. Matters were not helped by the referees' propensity for issuing yellow cards, so it was rather inevitable that Chukwuemeka would bring Chelsea level in the 28th minute.

Things could have gone from bad to worse had Areola not saved Enzo Fernandez's penalty, but it looked to all and sundry that Chelsea would inevitably overpower Hammers defence in the 2nd half. Instead Michail Antonio was delightfully put through by new signing James Warde-Prowes and managed to put away a difficult shot from some considerable distance, at last!

The joy of going ahead was short lived as Chelsea piled on the pressure and Aguerd picked up his second yellow. Moyes, who should have substituted Aguerd earlier, brought on Angelo Ogbonna and then Alavarez to shore up the defence which was under continuous pressure.

Somehow the team stood firm and aided by a raucous and ranting at the referee crowd,not only managed to see the game out, but went on the offensive resulting in the penalty awarded for a foul on Emerson, this was duly dispatched by his best mate Lucas Paqueta.

The Stadium roof nearly came off and the visiting fans went off in their droves as soon as the pen hit the back of the net! Some win, how many people bet on that result hey? - Ed

Those fans turning up for West Ham United's first home game of the season should be prepared for lengthy queues as security will be tight to say the least, the fact it is the first home game AND that it is against London rivals Chelsea WILL mean incredibly long waiting times to get in through the Stadium's 'security net'.

New staff will have been briefed in advance and will carry out restrictions to the letter of the law which can be very frustrating, so here are a few salient points to remember. You CAN bring in snacks for the game, including home made sandwiches, packets of crisps and treats. You can also bring in drinks, now here is a contentious issue, recently trained newly employed security staff will most likely attempt to restrict anyone from bringing drinks in with them, they could insist that any liquids are poured from dispensers into disposable plastic glasses, however this is NOT in the rules.

The most they can possibly ask for is that you remove the bottle tops of the drink containers, they may try to infer that you CANNOT bring drinks containers in irrespective of if the lids are removed or not. This is NOT correct, so long as the container is made from plastic or cardboard you are PERFECTLY entitled to bring them in, you may have to remove lids if applicable, but despite what you are told, you ARE allowed to bring drinks in if you remove lids.

It might irritate those around you if you take a stand over this issue because it could cause additional delays, but it is your right to bring in whatever is NOT listed in the don'ts section of items listed art the entrance to the security check points!

HERE ARE THE OFFICIAL GUIDELINES :PERMITTED ITEMS

The following items are permitted into London Stadium on football matchdays:

• Blankets

• Plastic bottles (with tops removed)

• Thermos flasks

• Cameras with three-inch lenses or shorter. Kindly note that no lights, tripods, selfie-sticks or monopods are permitted.

• Small quantities of food & drink for personal consumption. Please note that food items will be inspected as part of the searching process.

• All bottles must have tops removed unless otherwise indicated

Yes, you did read it correctly, THERMOS FLASKS! are among the items permitted, however we strongly advise against Thermos Flasks as this would DEFINITELY cause massive delays while supervisors are sought to clarify the ruling, but plastic bottles with their tops removed ARE perfectly permissible!

Either way, be prepared for huge delays, but you won't need to bring a tent! - Ed

Well would you Adam and Eve it? Moysie und Steidten singing from the same hymn sheet? Strange but true, following the 'Maguire Impasse' it seems that 'Dithering Dave' has finally taken a shine to 'Ze German' as Hammers now appear to be full on in their pursuit of transfer targets furnished by Steidten, but equally as importantly also approved by his Dinosauriness!

Just like waiting for London Busses, suddenly three targets are in the offing. One in particular, Stuttgart's Konstantinos Mavropanos has already said farewell to his team mates and has already agreed personal terms with the Irons, it is believed he IS the 'younger, fitter player ' that a club insider declared would arrive within 72 hours of the Maguire deal collapsing.

There is a God after all, albeit a Greeky one! Well Konstantinos is built like a proverbial out house and despite being an Arsenal reject appears to have ALL the attributes needed for the Premier League. At 6'5" tall he is a centre back who would be licking his lips at the prospect of being on the end of JWPs awesome dead ball deliveries, the team have been missing a 'corner marauder' ever since 'Les' Dawson left to join Wolves.

Not content with adding one 'unit' of a centre back, the Steidten Moyes duo now seem keen on adding Montpellier striking sensation Elye Wahi AND Mohammed Kudus of Ajax. In fact Steidten is rumoured to have jetted off to Holland earlier today to try and get a deal for the much coveted Kudus over the line!

So, after the phoney war of Moyes 'camping' outside Old Trafford for the 'scraps' they are willing to throw from their top table, Hammers now appear to have accepted that doing business with fellow Premier League clubs is nigh on impossible. A huge amount of time was wasted chasing tails, but at least now there is a specific focus rather than the previous 'scatter gun' approach that was in place.

These deals CAN be signed off quickly, because believe it or not Hammers are cash rich and can blow most other club's offers out of the water, even Man City's! These are interesting times, it is a pity that things didn't progress initially, but it was always going to take time for the Dino and Ze German to get on with each other. - Ed