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Lessons to learn from the Old Trafford defeat

November 29, 2012 By Stevo 1 Comment

lessons to learn from old trafford defeat

Manchester United retained their top spot in the league table last night courtesy of a one nil win over West Ham United. The Old Trafford defeat however, has left a sour taste in the mouths of many a West Ham fan to say the least.

The goal came from Manc new boy Robin Van Persie on 33 seconds. It was quite a shock to the system and a bit of a lame goal to say the least. He chipped a hapless Jussi Jaaskelainen via a deflection off James Collins to seal the match with less than a minute’s play.

It does leave a bad taste in your mouth especially as West Ham defended like Trojans and the Mancs never really got a whiff of Jaaskelainen’s penalty area after that!

Although the red devils dominated the ball as they usually do on their own park, they couldn’t break down the well-organised defense of the Hammers. The West Ham defense at the moment is outstanding and therefore we came away feeling rather sorry for ourselves after the game last night up North.

In the end, Fergie and his boys won the three points at stake and with a busy December on the horizon, they may be invaluable.

Lessons to learn

On the whole, although we lost the game we can take back to the Boleyn Ground some valuable lessons. The Hammers do have a defense that can produce the goods and last night it showed. If it weren’t for a lucky Van Persie strike that hit Collin’s leg and sent the ball spiralling past a helpless Jussi, the Irons may have come away with a draw, maybe a win.

Another lesson we must learn about the Old Trafford defeat is that we must put our chances away. We must stick them away against the bottom feeders and also the teams at the top. If we don’t we get punished. We had chances last night, even early in the game. Just after 11 minutes, Nolan could have drawn via a Matt Jarvis free-kick but flicked it just wide of the post. Nolan almost poked a Matt Jarvis drive beyond Manc keeper Lindegaard on 23 minutes, too.

The Red Devils looked like adding another goal sooner or later as they had so much possession but Hammers, like Guy Demel and James Collins, were robust warriors and Collins even got Man of the Match for his efforts.

Substitutes Carlton Cole and Modibo Maiga came close to equalising for the Irons, but it was not to be my friends.

Late into injury time, the Hammers got a free-kick that was headed down to substitute Carlton Cole. His cleverly chested-down volley on the turn was kept out by Lindegaard before Irons’ captain Kevin Nolan had a last ditch effort closed down and United defender Patrice Evra got away with a shocking back pass attempt thanks to fellow colleague Jonny Evans just before the final whistle blew.

We are trying to organise a competition for a couple of hammer fans to see West Ham vs Manchester United live on Saturday 9th March 2012 so stay tuned my friends.

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Defoe double sinks Hammers at the Lane

November 25, 2012 By Stevo 1 Comment

tottenham vs west ham 2012

It had to be West Ham old boy Jermaine Defoe who stuck the boot in at White Hart Lane, didn’t it? Defoe snatched a brace and Gareth Bale scored a scorcher. Andy Carroll scored his first goal for the claret and blues to try and adjust the scoreline but it was far too late, we weren’t going to salvage anything from this game.

It was a fiery derby in which some of the Hammer fans taunted the White Hart Lane outfit about the Rome stab fest the other day.

Tottenham now move up above the Hammers in the league table and were, dare i say it, the better side today. Only Andy Carroll’s header , which came far too late, was the only consolation the Hammers received this afternoon.

After the game in Rome early in the week, the Hammers thought they had their work cut out but they were oh so wrong. André Villas Boas’ outfit flew out of the starting blocks and pressured the irons from the get go and victory looked likely for the home side from the outset.

The hostile atmosphere in the stands transferred to the pitch where O’Brien was lucky to just get a booking for a dangerous late tackle on Bale.

Tottenham were up for the fight and both Defoe and Clint Dempsey fired in warning shots at Jussi. There was more trouble on the pitch and Defoe was booked for a rash tackle on West Ham’s Winston Reid. This was beginning to look like a Barca v Real Madrid game!

West Ham started to find their feet towards the half time whistle and captain fantastic Kevin Nolan, edged his way into the tottenham penalty area only to have his shot blocked by Sandro. Mark Noble was also booked for a silly tackle on Lennon and tempers were seen to be high on the two benches where Neil McDonald was seen to be involved in a spat with Jose Mario Rocha.

Tottenham’s first came courtesy of Defoe just before half time , who edged in from the right beating Winston Reid and George McCartney before taking on Noble and sending the ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

After the break, West Ham felt ambitious but left the back exposed for Tottenham to capitalise on. Within minutes, Defoe was involved in the second goal which put Bale through to beat the Hammers’ keeper via a post.

Tottenham duly took control of the game and then came Defoe’s second of the match to make it 3 nil. Dempsey put the ball through to unleash the speed of Lennon who squared nicely for Defoe to tap in.

Late into the game came West ham’s consolation goal. Big Andy Carroll managed to turn in Joey O’Brien’s cross and get his first goal for West Ham. No doubt he would have liked the goal to be a decider or in different circumstances but the Hammers were well beaten today.

After the match Sam Allardyce had this to say:

“It looked like we didn’t recover from the first goal, which is disappointing because we still had a very good chance if we came out and played like we can. We were relying a lot on good defensive work and that let us down in the end.
“We launched a spirited comeback but it was far too late. It’s a bad day for me watching the lads play like they did. None of the players played their best and ended up being beaten comfortably.

This was a baptism of fire for West Ham and maybe a reality check. Tottenham now jump up above the lads and it hurts. The Hammers need to get it together and play like winners. We have a strong defense and a decent record in the Premier League so let’s not lose hope that we can finish in the top 5 or 6 this year. COYI

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David Beckham to sign for West Ham?

November 21, 2012 By Stevo 1 Comment

david beckham west ham

Ok, the headline that David Beckham signs for West Ham got your attention, didn’t it lads?

What would the fans think of Beckham coming to London and hanging his boots up in style at West Ham? Lest we forget, David Beckham is an East Ender and ending his days at the Hammers would be both awesome for him and the team.

Becks was born in Leytonstone in 1975 and has played for the likes of Preston North End, Manchester United, Real Madrid and currently with LA Galaxy.The guy is a living legend and I for one have always enjoyed David’s flair and finesse. He is also one of the finest dead ball artists this planet and the next has ever seen and has proved this with every club he’s been to.

It’s not such a wild and kooky idea either. At the moment, the world is his oyster with interest coming in from France, Australia, China, Dubai and the Premier League to get Becks to sign on the dotted line and contract his services.

No doubt, he’d be a hit at West Ham and he knows it. He’s got the gutsy determination like captain Nolan and doesn’t take second best. He could move back to Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire and it would be a nice little ride down to East London in one of his fancy cars to the Boleyn Ground. it doesn’t get better than that, does it?

David Beckham would provide the youngsters at the Hammers with years of experience – all learnt at some of the top clubs in the world. Beckham would fit in perfectly with Allardyce’s plans, too. He could use the number 23 like Ferguson used Michael Owen at Manchester United. He used Owen in a nice and gentle role with no pressure. Beckham would love it; free kick here, long pass there – choice!

David Beckham has so many options open for him in December when he leaves his current club and any team or manager with half a brain would love to have him at their club. I would be happy for David Gold esquire to dip into his Arthur Daly style coat pockets and pull out his checkbook.

Even David Gold himself said:

“He’s an East End boy and it would be a fitting end to his career.”

He would be a real asset to the East London Club and apart from selling shed loads of West Ham kit with the number 23 on it he’d be the perfect playmaker.

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Hammers battle to earn a point against Stoke

November 20, 2012 By Stevo 1 Comment

hammers vs stoke city 2012

It was Allardyce’s chance to move up to fifth place in the league table but the Hammers were met by a stubborn Stoke City who snatched an early goal courtesy of Jonathan Walters. The Hammers equalised via Joey O’Brien of all people and thus took a share of the spoils that the Boleyn Ground had to offer.

Stoke were their usual self and always pose an arial threat whether it’s against the Hammers or Man United. Stoke could have thumped in a second which would have knocked the wind out of our boys for sure when Steven N’Zonzi’s half volley clattered against Jussi’s crossbar just before half time. That would have been goal of the season, too!

Stoke were looking for their first away win and looked pretty much up for the task in hand.  The early goal by Walters gave Stoke some breathing room and allowed them to play a little. The Irons had an uphill task on their hands and it didn’t look like it was going to be a walk in the park.

For most of the first half the Hammers struggled to create chances and Stoke looked like they might snatch the full 3 points.

Promising second half

The second half proved much more promising for Allardyce’s boys as West Ham pushed Stoke City. Although Stoke were always going to be a threat in the air, the Hammers pushed them and Joey O’Brien scored his second goal for the club.

The Hammers should have had an equaliser in the bag just after the break though. Mohamed Diame combined nicely with Modibo Maiga down the left side to set loose  McCartney. The defender’s cross was inch perfect for Nolan but the Hammers’ captain put his header far too close to the Stoke City keeper.

West Ham levelled the match just moments after when Maiga had his strike charged down and Gary O’Neil was able to assist from the right side of play for Joey O’Brien to convert from the middle of the goal.

The equaliser appeared to have ruffled Stoke City’s feathers and Maiga came very close to putting the hammers ahead with just over half an hour to play. Mark Noble’s corner was won in the air by and knocked down by big Andy Carroll for Maiga to latch onto but could not beat keeper Begovic who made a decent save.

The Hammers‘ scorer O’Brien was then replaced by Guy Demel with 13 minutes remaining on the clock. He then had a decent effort that went just wide of Begovic’s goal six minutes later. Winston Reid also had a good chance to claim three points for the irons with a header late in the game but the New Zealand international did not get enough power on his effort and was wasted much to the dismay of the Boleyn Ground.

Ok, so we’ve snatched just a point which could have or should have been three. We’ve missed the chance to move up to fifth place and it would have given us some room to breathe as we have some tough games in the weeks to follow.

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Ex Toon Nolan puts Newcastle to the sword

November 12, 2012 By Stevo 2 Comments

kevin nolan before the newcastle vs west ham game

It was up to ex Toon and West Ham’s captain fantastic Kevin Nolan to put his old club to the sword at St James’ Park this weekend where the Irons beat newcastle by a single goal to nil thus firing the East end club into sixth position.

It was an emotional return for the ex Newcastle player where he kept his emotions in check and refused to celebrate the goal which gave his team the victory. According to Sam Allardyce, Nolan has been the best signing West Ham has made under him when he joined them at the start of last year for just £5Million.

That 37th minute strike from Kevin Nolan earned the Hammers a sixth league table position and Allardyce is over the moon.

Kevin Nolan admitted after the match:

“It was a perfect scenario for me to score. It was emotional.

“But I was never going to celebrate scoring here. I never will.

“That was down to the support I got when I was at Newcastle. But this was a great result for us.”

Kevin Nolan had a great game alongside strike partner Andy Carroll and Allardyce has hailed his strike pair. Nolan went back to St James’ Park to haunt the Toons and bagged his fifth goal of the season. The pair worked well in unison and caused Alan Pardew’s men all sorts of problems up front.

Newcastle didn’t look like they had any interest in drawing the match let alone go for a win! They seemed to complacent and accepted the fact that they were one nil down. There were a few times where I thought the Hammers were slipping back into complacency, too. They soon sorted themselves out though and this win takes us up to sixth position. Liverpool did the league a favour yesterday by snatching a point from Chelsea from a Suarez equaliser. The ref didn’t see the nice shove Suarez gave a Chelsea defender to make way for the unstoppable header though 😉

Manchester City won and so did Manchester United with a win over Aston Villa. Man Utd were down 2 goals to nil before they decided to grow a brain and engage it on the pitch. Mexican star Chicharito knocked in two goals and tried to claim a third but was clearly going off target so the ref gave an own goal.

Allardyce was thrilled after the game at Tyneside and even more so as it has been a long 14 years without a win there.

After the match Sam Allardyce had this to say about his captain:

“Kevin’s relationship with Andy is such a good one that I don’t need to do a lot of coaching with the two of them.
If anything, they instinctively play off each other.
While Andy’s struggling to get a goal — and we’d like him to get one — Kevin’s scoring them, so we’re reaping the benefits of that relationship”.

This game has given all Hammer fans hope. We are gradually starting to mix it with the big guns and little by little Andy Carroll is starting to show the kind of form and spirit that Upton Park need. The partnership with captain Kevin Nolan is a good one and when you get two players like this with the telepathy they obviously have with each other then we have gold.

Let’s keep up the good work lads and COYI!

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