westhamfans.org

Hammers 1st team might be short on players who can make a difference, but the U-23's seem to have them a plenty as they brushed aside Exeter City 3-0 at St James'Park this evening. Harrison Ashby, Thierry Nevers and Alexander Okoflex all chipped in with goals.

We know it sounds like a broken record harping on about the youth players, and to his credit David Moyes DOES as much as he can to utilise them. It is a difficult situation given the pressure cooker environment of the Premier League, a player needs time on the pitch, but there is little or no time available.

Just over one month ago, Mike Nesmith one of the only two of the original Monkees left, passed away. Only Mikey Dolenz is left now, it is perhaps fitting that the 'Elephant Boy' as he was called when he was a child star, still remains. As Dolenz concluded his epitaph for 'Nes', he closed with the words he shared with the 'leader', "None of us are going to get out of this alive."

When Sebastien Haller left West Ham to join Ajax most observers thought that he would do well in Holland and thrive in a less competitive environment than the Premier League, but NO ONE thought that he would go on to become a Champions League record breaker!

Extremely disturbing or amusing, depending on your opinion, images have emerged of Andy Carroll in the car park of Hammers Rush Green training ground. We kid you not, but before you start to have an apoplectic shock it should be remembered that Big Andy still has a property that is located not that far from the Romford training ground, which was given the not so glamourous nick name of 'Goose Green' by a certain European footballer when he first laid eyes on the place having previously been SEDUCED by what was on show at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Yesterday's defeat by Leeds did rather shine a light on the well known paucity of David Moyes' Hammers squad, a team with top for or even top six aspirations needs more than Andriy Yarmolenko and Authur Masuaku on their bench. The end of Yarmolenko's contract cannot come soon enough for many Hammers fans, with the feeling that he has 'stolen' a living for the past three and a half years.

A Jack Harrison hat-trick saw visitors Leeds United win a deserved 3-2 victory over a 'game weary' Hammers side, despite needing to replace to replace TWO of their players in the first 24 minutes. To the neutral the game had everything and would have been a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell, Rice ©, Lanzini, Fornals, Vlasic, Bowen, Antonio Subs: Areola (GK), Johnson, Masuaku, Alese, Fredericks, Kral, Yarmolenko, Okoflex, Perkins
Leeds: Meslier, Ayling ©️, Koch, Struijk, Firpo, Dallas, Klich, Forshaw, James, Harrison, Raphinha Subs: Klaesson (GK), Hjelde, McKinstry, Jenkins, Moore, Kenneh, Gray, Bate, Rodrigo

When Dimitri Payet 'landed' in East London it is fair to say he shook up not only West Ham, but also the entire Premier League. While it lasted the Payet era was a wonder to behold, somehow players like Marky Noble suddenly started playing like Iniesta! Of course it was all destined to end in tears but it was a hell of a ride and DID sow the seeds for the future.

Last weekend's FA Cup tie against Leeds United was essentially a dress rehearsal for this afternoon's Premier League clash, some will say this game is FAR more important than last weekend's cup tie. FA Cup competition supporters will not be pleased to hear that, it is indeed rather sad that a competition that once lit up the calendar has now by and large been sidelined, gone are the days when supporters who didn't have tickets to the final would sit for hours ahead of the game, glued to their TV screens in anticipation of the main event.

Tomáš Souček
@tomassoucek28
Huge support from home!!! Let’s go @WestHam
✊
Like it or loathe it, social media plays an important part in modern day living, one person who particularly dislikes the disruptive element of 'soshall' media is Hammers boss David Moyes, a man who absolutely winces when asked to comment on his players off the field activities involving Insta etc.