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Blackburn smooth over false allegations made by Steve Kean

January 8, 2013 By Stevo 1 Comment

Blackburn Rovers have apologised to big Sam Allardyce over the false allegations that Steve Kean made about him.

Most fans will remember the famous video footage of Steve Kean talking to Rovers’ fans during their Far East pre-season in 2011. The former boss could be heard swearing and using foul language with fans about Allardyce who he served under at Ewood Park.

Allardyce was sacked by Blackburn in 2010 and did not hesitate in taking both Kean and his former club to court over the video footage which was shown on YouTube.

The dispute about the derogatory video footage spread over the Internet was finally settled out of court last week and now Blackburn Rovers has issued a statement:

The statement from Rovers read:

“During the summer of 2011, Steve Kean was this club’s manager and accompanied the players of Blackburn Rovers on a pre-season tour of the Far East.
“We apologise to Mr Allardyce for the embarrassment and distress caused to him by Mr Kean.”

Blackburn have not had much luck recently with managers. Steve Kean was let go earlier this season and was replaced by Henning Berg, who lasted just 57 days. Blackburn are now without a manager and strong rumours were coming out of East Lancashire last week that Peter Taylor would be the man to take over the helm at the club.

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Frank Lampard could return to Hammers

January 8, 2013 By Stevo 8 Comments

frank lampard

The January transfer window is well and truly open and one thing that could make headlines is the possible transfer of ex Hammer Frank Lampard.

Joe Cole has made an impressive return to his former club and Frank Lampard could do the same. It would be amazing for the Hammers if they had these two former youth players back in the squad. The blues playmaker will be shown the door in the summer and there’s not much he can do about it despite still scoring goals for his side.

Lampard has cemented himself as one of the best midfielders the country has ever seen, both on club and international level and his experience alone would make the prospect of having him back at the irons a real steal. The young Hammer side would benefit hugely from Lampard.

It’s incredible that the Russian Billionaire would let a player of Frank Lampard’s stature go – especially as there are already lots of Premiership clubs with pen in hand ready to sign him. The fickle behaviour of Abramovich is one reason he won’t be having ex Barca coach Pep Guardiola at the blues. Can you blame him?

Joe Cole received an enormous home coming on Saturday when his new club drew 2-2 with Manchester United in The FA Cup and speculation is growing that Frank Lampard is keen to join him. It would be a fairytale story for Hammer supporters and “Lamps” has certainly not ruled anything out at this stage

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FA Cup clash draw was a bit of an injustice

January 7, 2013 By Stevo 1 Comment

collins heads in at the fa cup clash

The FA Cup clash third round against Manchester United on Saturday was  “a bit of an injustice” to say the least.

We all knew Fergie’s boys were up for it but then again, so were the Hammers, weren’t they? Collins’ two stunning goals knocked the stuffing out of the Red Army who seemed powerless to hold the Irons from coming forward and bringing the game to them.

Joe Cole’s presence was awesome and he played an important part in the 2-2 draw which now goes to a replay. He was the one that provided the sweet crosses for “Ginger” to get on the end of. It was a nice welcome back for the Hammer’s prodigal son.

Joe Cole realised himself how the Hammers under the watchful eye of Sam Allardyce have been transformed. Joe also reckons that he has now found his place  at West Ham.

Manchester United’s goals came Tom Cleverley in the first half  and then Robin Van Persie’s last minute death blow just before the final whistle. Collins equalised for the Hammers after Cleverley’s goal in the first half from a pinpoint cross that even Beckham would have loved.

Joe Cole said after the game:

“It was great to play again and I really enjoyed it. There’s been a lot of fuss.

“I’m not really one for that. I just wanted to get out there and play football. Individually it was a good performance and collectively I thought we defended really well.

“The reception I got from the fans was amazing. It really choked me up. It’s great to be here.

“The fans, even when I came back here with Chelsea or Liverpool, have always given me a good reception but today was special. Onwards and upwards.”

So, it’s an awesome FA Cup clash replay and to get through this, the Irons have to play the same way with focus, courage and determination. Joe Cole showed us that he’s still a Hammer, we need the rest of the team to follow suit.

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West Ham vs Man Utd FA Cup Quick Preview

January 4, 2013 By Stevo 1 Comment

Tomorrow’s game against Manchester United in the FA Cup is a biggie. In fact, it doesn’t get bigger than this, does it?

As it is a high profile game what should we expect from Fergie’s Red Devils then?

Collins and co will have to pull on their best defensive boots tomorrow as Van Persie will be out trying to snatch a brace. I think the Hammers defense will be up to the task and Ialso think that the Manc frontline won’t pose too problems for the West Ham backline if they stay focussed.

Focus will be the key in this FA Cup clash and the operative word, too. Focus is what will bring home the bacon tomorrow at the Boleyn Ground and focus is what will keep the Red Devils from running riot. We all know far too well the Manc’s ability to stick the winner in on minute 92 – it’s happened to all the top clubs far too often so 100% focus to the end of the match is highly imperative.

Make no mistake though, Manchester United are quick and will make us pay dearly on the break. Nolan will have to be captain fantastic tomorrow and lead from the front. We have to bring it and show them that the Irons are not afraid. Chances must not go begging like Vaz Té’s the other day – whether we are winning or not.

One of the new faces for tomorrow’s clash must be Joe Cole and I’m sure he’ll be up to the challenge. Carlton Cole must also make his chances count. It’s not enough to perform like a superstar on the odd occasion – we need him at his very best for tomorrow’s FA Cup clash and I’m confident he will deliver the goods.

It will be one fabulous game tomorrow and a chance to show the big guns that we mean business. COYI!

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Reading 1 West Ham United 0

December 30, 2012 By Stevo 1 Comment

james collins holds his head

It was a weekend full of goals, thrills, spills, you name it. Even Fergie managed to get up Pardew’s nose and put in a mention of his famous ref pushing episode. The weekend wasn’t so good for the Hammers though, was it?

We got blindsided by the Royals and they took us cheaply with a cheeky 1 nil win. The winning goal came courtesy of Russian signing Pavel Pogrebnyak after 5 minutes! This left me with a question; what did the Irons do to redeem themselves for the rest of the match?

The games are ticking by and I’m running out of excuses. I know we’ve got injury problems and we’ll probably make up a shed load of points towards the end of the season but to lose 1 nil away to bottom feeding Reading – it’s not good lads.

I’m not even going to blame Collins for his faux pas that led to the Russian’s goal either. Haven’t we got enough firepower to stick a couple in at Reading’s end? Reading have only managed 1 point in 8 outings so it couldn’t have been that difficult, could it?

Ok, rant over. Vaz Té was a welcome sight back in the ranks and he nearly made it one goal apiece with a missed header towards the end of the game. Reading hung on for dear life as the hammers were all over them like a fat kid eating a Happy Meal!

Royals boss Brian McDermott had this to say after the game:

“It was a resilient performance. They put us under pressure with a lot of balls going into our box and it was a real physical game.

“The goal that Pavel scored was a terrific finish one-on-one. I know Collins made a mistake but Pavel had to finish — and it was not an easy finish.

“He’s not had the opportunities because we haven’t created the chances for him we would have liked. But when he does get a chance he hits the target.

Reading took control early on in the match and the Hammers’ frustration came to a head when Mark Noble was booked by ref Michael Oliver for a silly tackle on Royals’ Jimmy Kebe.

The second half saw some more tantrums when big lad Carlton Cole tussled with Alex Pearce and appeared to kick out — but the ref apparently didn’t see it.

After the game West Ham manager Sam Allardyce admitted:

“We’re looking over our shoulders cautiously because we don’t want to get drawn into a fight at the bottom.
“Now we really need a win against Norwich on Tuesday.
“My problem is getting my best team out and I haven’t been able to that because of the injuries.”

I think we can all agree with big Sam. Let’s put this one behind us and get ready to face Chris Hughton’s Canaries – over and out!

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