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West Ham United v Karlsruher SC Pre-season match, Saturday 23 July 2016, 5pm CEST (4pm BST) at the Franz-Fekete-Stadion, This is Hammers final warm up game ahead of this coming thursday's Europa League cup opener away to NK Domzale, Slaven Billic will be hoping to 'ease' players like Winston Reid and Andy Carroll in to a competitive environment gradually during this afternoon's match, he will of course be hoping his players avoid injury but they cannot be wrapped in cotton wool forever!

The appointment of Sam Allardyce as the new England manager is a little like fiction becoming life in a Mike Bassett sort of way, the FA have not countenanced messing with appointing a 'johnny foreigner; in the fall out of Roy Hodgson's disastrous competitive competition results, but have gone full belt and braces and might even play 4-4 effing 2!

Wednesday 20 July...London...14:18
The air foul and dank. The musky weave of scratching intermingled with stale gravy overpowering. The glooping odour of sweat deeply set in crevices long since washed. Body hair matted to skin in oily resin long since recognisable. The oversized mouth hung open, helpless, hopeless. The eyes gave a flicker but only the most positive of optimists would argue there was someone at home. The red and “white” scarf clinging to the flaps of skin around his neck was wet with the bile of anger and froth from the brown ale.