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  • Sometimes you just have to laugh

    mcbikeman's picture
    Submitted by mcbikeman on Fri, 05/05/2023 - 17:55

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    So having a browse this lunchtime for various stories about West Ham and you get all the usual stuff then i saw a little story saying that "West Ham" are really worried they could lose both Rice and Soucek this summer.

    Had to smile and laugh and say it would not come as a surprise to me or any fan that we have no plans in place as to what they will do if & when it happens.

    When the seasons over i will be taking a break from the site and keep away from all the rumours because it does do your head in sometimes.....and i have a feeling this summers goings on will tip many a fan over the edge! but hey take a look across the channel and PSG it seems they are now trying to rival us as the biggest circus in town!

  • Live Now Man City v West Ham Line Ups And Links

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 03/05/2023 - 19:01

    Man City : Ortega; Walker (c), Stones, Dias, Ake; Alvarez, Rodri, Silva; Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland. Subs: Ederson, Phillips, Gundogan, Laporte, Gomez, Akanji, Perrone, Foden, Lewis.
    West Ham : Fabianski; Coufal, Kehrer, Ogbonna, Cresswell (c), Emerson; Paqueta, Downes; Bowen, Fornals, Antonio. Subs: Areola, Anang, Johnson, Lanzini, Cornet, Ings, Benrahma.

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  • Irons Players To Ditch Their 'Bra's'

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 03/05/2023 - 14:29

    With so few games remaining of the season West Ham United's back room staff have told players that they no longer need to wear their performance 'bra's' for the remaining fixtures. The monitoring singlets that do resmeble brassiers are a vital part of acquiring fitness information but are uncomfortable to wear and so have been deemed unnecessary for the remainder of the season.

    Not all clubs use the singlets in the top flight,while they are incredibly useful they can distract players on occasions, they are uncomfortable to wear and do make some players hot and bothered, particularly when worn in warmer climates or during hot spells domestically.

    Bra's or not, tonight the players won't need monitors to show if they are working hard enough, because they are likely to be run ragged by City's myriad of stars, especially Gollum's brother! No one can envisage anything except a defeat. It is the measure of the loss that is being thought over, goal difference might be an important factor by the time the last kick of the season has taken place.

    To that purpose calls for Dino Moyes to make wholesale changes to rest the squad ahead of the home game against Man Utd fixture and the home game against AK in the Con Cup will probably fall on death ears, which is rather a pity given the game is essentially a dead rubber.

    There are plenty of players that Dino could utilise but if his past choices have anything to do with it he will select his usual starting eleven who have just completed TEN GAMES in a month! The players looked jaded and completely off the pace during the games against Liverpool and Palace, surely Moyes must realise that the will to play cannot obscure the fact that his starting eleven are mentally and physically drained and ALL need a rest.

    Some might say that the team are well payed athletes who should be able to cope with the relentless fixture list, whereas others realise that the mental strain of playing SO many games eventually wears players down allowing errors that weren't there before to creep into their games.

    The city game will be a bitter poll to swallow but they are in a completely different league and as such writing the game of is NOI an admission of defeat, more a considered pragmatic realisation that there is virtually NO POINT in trying to win at the Etihad at the expense of suffering more injuries and more exhaustion ahead of fixtures when the team DO have a chance of winning. -Ed

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  • Big Sam-Hammers Nemesis Or Club's Saviour?

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 02/05/2023 - 11:34

    News that Sam Allardyce will most likely become Leeds United's next manager will come as no surprise to some whereas he is the obvious choice to others as the club look to rescue what looks like an inevitably sinking ship. Realistically, Leeds have the hardest run in of ALL the relegation threatened clubs, but he is known for his defensive organisational abilities and will most definitely stop the flood of goals the club has been shipping on an industrial scale.

    The fact that Hammers host Leeds for their final game of the season at the still as yet unnamed Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Park will have or have not an ironic twist in the tale of this season's final outcome. Allardyce's brand of football is pragmatic, boring but effective, so don't be surprised if he manages to get a result if he is in charge for the game.

    Even if Leeds do get three points from their game with the Irons their plight is still more than precarious if you look at their other remaining fixtures, the likely hood of them surviving is NOT in their hands, they will still rely on other teams 'doing them a favour'.

    The atmosphere inLondon will be reminiscent of the old days to fans of a certain age, the fierce rivalry between West Ham and Leeds was fought as much off the pitch as it was on it during football's dark days of hooliganism of the seventies, culminating in the death of a Hammers supporter allegedly caused by the notorious Leeds inter city firm, that were only rivalled by West Ham's own ICF!

    If Hammers get even a point it will surely send Leeds down, a win would certainly ensure Hammers own survival and even a defeat wouldn't mean the end of the World but it would mean having to get at least a point away to Leicester City on the final day, NOT a prospect Hammers fans will be looking forward to.

    Of course there are other games to throw into the mix, but this one could send Leeds down and see Hammers stay up, so there was a lot riding on the fixture before the Big Sam story broke. However before Leeds fans 'rejoice' at Javier Gracia's removal they should be mindful that Allardyce's tactical Nous will be fully challenged in the two fixtures prior to the Hammers game, away to City and home to Newcastle...good luck their Sam!

    Realistically three more points will see Hammers safely through the relegation minefield. where they come from is anybody's guess but the club is better suited for survival than Southampton, Everton, Forest and Leeds, on paper at least, but football isn't played on paper is it? - Ed

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  • Toffee & Crisps Come Unstuck!

    Submitted by Louis Nixon on Tue, 02/05/2023 - 08:01

    Last night's frenzied game between relegation battlers Leicester City and Everton could not have worked out better for West Ham United's struggles at the wrong end of the table, victory for either side would have seen Hammers slender points advantage sliced away to just one point had the hosts held on to a possible victory, one that seemed nailed on as James Maddison strode forward to take the penalty that would have seen the hosts gain a 3-1 advantage.

    Maddison missed and Everton eventually equalised and then held on for what was a precious point, but in the great scheme of things a point was good for neither club and has helped Hammers have just that little extra bit of breathing space that a 'drowning man or woman' requires for survival.

    Things aren't done and dusted yet though, a visit to the Etihad was never a nice prospect in any circumstances , but with the 'Haaland' monster waiting to devour goals it would only be a fool or a horse who could envisage anything other than a 'Scando battering'. Goal difference could be an issue by the season's end so it is to be hoped that the Irons can escape with just a 'small portion and chips'. There is also the doomy prospect that Fat Sam Allardyce could be in charge of Leeds for Hammers penultimate match, the final home game of the season and how he would love to put one over on his old club!

    Fortunately, the aforementioned Leeds United have an appalling run in for the rest of the season, the worst of the bottom six and Forests doesn't look to pretty either. All the teams have to play each other so points are guaranteed to be lost or gained or off into the ether as was the case last night, draws are not good for ANY team at the bottom. That said, a couple of draws might well be enough to see hammers playing Premier League football next season, hopefully with a new vibrant manager in charge,but that is for the future, not for the now.

    Playing both Manchester clubs within the space of five days is a daunting prospect, the City game is essentially a write off that will involve damage limitation, the game on Sunday at home to the lesser Manchester team could go either way as they have had a recent resurgence but are still fragile on their travels.

    There will be no respite for the squad though because they have to recharge and reset for the first of the 'Con Cup' semi finals against AK at the Stratford Stadium on the Thursday before the tricky trip to Brentford the next Sunday. Brentford have an uncanny knack of getting results by hook or by crook at home, so points will be at a premium there!

    Then there is the return leg of the Con semi final away at Ak followed by the last home game of the season against Leeds followed by a crunch match, hopefully only for the home team against Leicester City to close off what has been an absolutely terrible season that will NOT be redeemed by winning the 'useless cup' although it would guarantee another season in Europe due to the winner's automatically qualifying for the Europa League. - LN

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  • Scoreline Flattered Hapless Irons

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 29/04/2023 - 21:35

    With so much riding on the result Hammers fans expected a lot from their side for the trip to face Palace at Selhurst Park, instead they saw an insipid and uninspiring performance. The 4-3 scoreline does not truly reflect the game, as the home side could have won 7-1 had they taken all their chances!

    David Moyes' side were 2nd best in ALL aspects of the game and were lucky to escape a hammering, essentially they were so battered by Palace you expected Uncle Woy to have opened up a 'retirement fish bar'. West Ham went ahead with an extremely rare Tomy Soucek goal, but the away fans joy was short lived as Palace equalled vis Jordan Ayew, who else? The player is a serial scorer against the Irons and didn't he know it as his celebrations attested to!

    From then on Hammers usual robust defence capitulated, losing Kurt Zouma early on didn't help matters and The Og(bonna) was strong when he came on as Zoo's replacement but there was little he could do to help his wayward team mates. All three of Palace's goals to take the score to 3-1 were defensive errors, the sort not normally associated with a West Ham defence (Newcastle game apart).

    Hammers scored through THREE set pieces by the end of the game but few chances were created from open play, the team looked extremely 'leggy' throughout the entire game. Even the forced substitutions were to little effect as Moyes brought on Said Benrahma and Aaron Cresswell at the start of the second half in an attempt at shoring up the porous defence that had conceded three goals in the first half. Perhaps this abject showing was as a result of accumulatied tiredness due to the insane NINE games in 27 days schedule the club were forced to endure.

    This result put a SERIOUS dent in Hammers Premier League survival hopes, fortunately both Forest and Wolves were beaten today otherwise the situation could have been a whole lot worse! The loss means the dreadful scenario of a final day battle against relegation could become a distinct reality. The last home fixture is against Leeds United and the final game of the season away to Leicester, the last thing needed is the need to score ANY points on the last day of the season.

    IF the team CAN find a way to get three points in the penultimate game against Leeds, then that should be enough to scrape through to next season, because realistically there isn't a hope in hell of points at the Etihad and the forces of evil will somehow conspire to let the other Manchester club get all three points at the unnamed Stratford Stadium.

    The away game against Brentford is also unlikely to yield any points and there are also TWO semi final 'Con Cup' games to be played against AZ that have to be negotiated. Plenty of games left to succeed or fail, the club's fate is really on a knife edge, more performances like today's and fans might well have to start looking up locations like Rotherham to see where the club will be playing next season! - Ed

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  • Live Now Palace v West Ham Line Ups And Links

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 29/04/2023 - 11:31

    Palace: Johnstone, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Doucoure, Schlupp, Olise, Eze, Zaha (c), Ayew. Subs: Guaita, Milivojevic, Tomkins, Lokonga, Mateta, Hughes, Edouard, Richards
    West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson, Rice (c), Soucek, Paqueta, Fornals, Antonio, Bowen. Subs: Areola, Cresswell, Lanzini, Downes, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Kehrer.

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  • Scarles The Baby Faced Assassin

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 28/04/2023 - 10:02

    Ollie Scarles is a very special young talent, the 17-year-old has already played at senior level, making his debut appearance for the first team against FCSB last year. Along with captain Gideon Kodua Ollie was the star of the show as Hammers U-18's beat Arsenal 5-1 in their own back yard.
    Although completely different players there is something of the Declan Rice about Scarles, he plays well above his years and would look comfortable in a first team situation, the way he handled himself against the provocation aimed at him during the win over the Gooners.

    Although yesterday's Premier League results saw Bournemouth go above West Ham in the table there is realistically only a need for three more points to ensure survival, with Southampton and Everton virtually consigned to relegation there is only one more team to join them from Leicester City, Notts Forest and Leeds.

    Shoiuld Hammers ensure their safety BEFORE the last game or two of the season then there is absolutely NO REASON Sarles cannot at least be in the squad, he will probably make the squad for the 'Con Cup' semi final along with Divin Mubama, but he is good enough to dip his toe in Premier League waters and has energy in abundance which makes him look like a greyhound when compared with Aaron Cresswell!

    What is the point of having an academy if the players fail to progress? OK it would be naive to think that ALL of the talented youngsters will go on to be great players but SOME will, however they will only move forward if they are given the chance and in a high pressure environment some will fall by the wayside but they MUST at least see a glimmer of hope or else they WILL be off elsewhere!

    The Hammers Academy was once one of the most famous in WORLD football and is still viewed as an incredibly successful production line of talent by others. Give youth a chance and it WILL thrive, but a chance or two is required. Come on Mrs Moyes, tell Dino to use some of the boys and help turn them into men on the pitch. - Ed

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  • Big Fat Frank

    boogerscaravan's picture
    Submitted by boogerscaravan on Thu, 27/04/2023 - 09:43

    Forums:

    10 men, 9 men 8 men etc and their fork lift truck etc, etc. Ha Ha , well it seems the way to wreck your status as a club legend. Is not to have one stint but 2 stints as manager. The second stint losing your first 5 games and becoming the record holder for that very achievement!!

    Well done Frank, you must be a shoe in for us Irons now. PS I'll send one of those big Jeff off Manitou's round to carry your fat arse out of the scum gates...

  • There's A Reason Liverpool Fans Are Involved In Tragic Events

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 27/04/2023 - 08:40

    First of all losing to Liverpool yesterday hurt, make no mistake about it, the ridiculous non use of VAR at the end of the game was pretty scandalous and has already been covered by many media outlets. It worked 'perfectly' for the visitors in order for Jarrod Bowen's goal to be written off, correctly as it happens, but was NOT USED at all despite one of the most blatant hand balls you will ever see from Liverpool, albeit despite being an 'accident'.

    Mikey Antonio had a similar accident the previous week which was far less blatant but had a penalty awarded against him, such are the vagueries of VAR. However, a far more serious series of events had already occurred, before, during and after the game courtesy of the visiting support.

    Viewers from Merseyside will say that negative comments about their 'wonderful' away supporters are just sour grapes, which to some degree is true, however they cannot deny that a huge number of them had attained tickets in the home fans area and ALL OVER the ground. In fact they are proud of how they manage to get 'unobtainable' tickets where ever they play, home or abroad!

    Firstly there needs to be a serious investigation as to how SO MANY were able to gain entry, their presence is NOT heresay, at the Org we witnessed first hand just how many Liverpool supporters there were ALL OVER THE GROUND! This is totally unacceptable, the potential for disorder was rife and on another evening things could have gone from drastic to tragic very quickly and that is the point of this article.

    The club should NEVER have allowed so many opposition supporters into the ground, that needs to be sorted out quickly, but more importantly 'innocent' Liverpool fans with the correct tickets were swamped by those who had acquired tickets nefariously and behaved accordingly.

    It is NO CO-INCIDENCE that tragic events in Europe and Domestically have featured Liverpool fans, time and again their 'enthusiasm' for getting tickets has caused chaos and disorder resulting in death and injury. If it was a one off situation then that is fate, however 'Pool' supporters of a certain type have been involved in multiple incidents, many of them going unreported and something needs to be done before another 'tragedy' occurs.

    West Ham AND other clubs are NOT blameless either, 'Ticket Exchange' that Hammers uses is a great idea, in principle, it is to allow fans who cannot attend games the facility to pass their tickets on to 'fellow' fans in order that they can attend, a hefty mark up is added with the additional funds going towards new players etc, again a good idea but then it begins to fall apart.

    There are too many ways a 'determined' away supporter can milk the system, all they need is a greedy middleman to facilitate their purchase and they are away, it happens on most match days, but Liverpool supporters have an entire unofficial infrastructure in place to get hold of tickets, it has been going for years and has been responsible or partly responsible for crowd disorder across Europe on numerous occasions.

    Perhaps we imagined all the Scouse accents right next to us in the Bobby Moore upper? And that we 'imagined' none of them celebrating Lucas Paqueta's wonder goal but somehow saw them jumping out of their seats when Liverpool scored?

    The FA and Premier League need to make a serious review of this type of situation, after all, there is a reason it is Liverpool fans who have been involved in the bulk of modern day European football tragedies, isn't there or is it pure co-incidence? - Ed

    NB: We apologise if this article upsets those who suffered injury or loss through no fault of their own in the incidents we have discussed, but feel it is VITAL lessons are learned in order to avoid similar tragedies

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