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Michael Oliver appointed as referee for Leicester- West Ham clash- Can Hammers reproduce Man Utd heroics

October 25, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

West Ham’s last game saw their winless run at home under Martin Atkinson extend to six games, but they will be hopeful of a better result under the referee appointed for their next clash away at the King Power Stadium. The Premier League have awarded Michael Oliver this clash- the same person who was in the middle when the Hammers produced their famous 3-1 upset over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United a few weeks ago.

The Hammers were also victorious on their last visit to the King Power, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Noble and Inter loanee Joao Mario. [Read more…]

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Five things we learnt from West Ham v Tottenham- Post Match Thoughts

October 24, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

Another disappointing result despite perhaps playing the better football of the two sides- that’s been the story for most of this season for Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham. Fans will count several games- Arsenal, Chelsea, Brighton and now Spurs, where the Irons deserved much more. Some would argue they played well enough to take 12 points from these four games, but the fact remains that they’ve taken only one, and find themselves stranded deep in the bottom half of the table with only 7 points to show for their efforts so far. Perhaps it should’ve been expected- the Hammers were winless in their last five at home under Martin Atkinson, the ref for the Spurs clash.

On the positive side, West Ham have now played five of the current Premier League “big” six in their opening nine games. Their next set of games appears to be far easier, but does Pellegrini have the personnel to do the job? The latest person to join the casualty ward was Andriy Yarmolenko, who ruptured his Achilles and joins a growing long term injury list which already contains the likes of Sanchez, Wilshere, Lanzini, Carroll and Reid. It’s not quite crisis time, but the rising amount of injuries will worry West Ham’s Chilean gaffer. [Read more…]

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Media Player Ratings- How did West Ham’s players fare against Spurs?

October 23, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

Like Brighton, this was a game West Ham should’ve at least drawn, if not won. They certainly created enough chances to take all three points, but Spurs walked away with the win at the end- the first time in nearly six decades that the Lilywhites have won five straight London derbies.

Both of West Ham’s changes for this game- Aaron Cresswell for Arthur Masuaku and Robert Snodgrass for Pedro Obiang, were injury enforced. Javier Hernandez made his first appearance since the Wolves game for the Hammers as a second half substitute and even managed to get the ball into the back of the net after some beautiful interplay with Marko Arnautovic, but it was disallowed for offside.

If Yarmolenko was poor against Brighton, his fellow winger Felipe Anderson had a game to forget this time around, with his reluctance to track back not helping left back Aaron Cresswell’s cause. He was culpable for the first goal- some poor defending that allowed Moussa Sissoko to set up Erik Lamela. It was a goal that should never have been conceded, and was Spurs’ first shot on target till then! And lest it not be forgotten, when West Ham were on the attack, Mark Noble was robbed of the ball in the move that eventually lead to Spurs’ goal. Yarmolenko was stretchered off towards the end of the first half and is now set for an extended spell on the sidelines, adding to Pellegrini’s headaches. [Read more…]

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Injury hit Hammers to take on Leicester this weekend

October 23, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

Both West Ham and Leicester City will be looking for their first wins this month when they square off at the King Power Stadium on Saturday evening. The Foxes, like the Hammers, are sitting in the bottom half of the table after losing 2-1 at home to Everton before the international break and 3-1 away at Arsenal in their first game after it on Monday evening.

The Hammers have a bit of an injury crisis for this one after Andriy Yarmolenko was ruled out for six months after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the 1-0 loss to Spurs over the weekend. The lanky Ukrainian was effectively West Ham’s first choice right winger in Pellegrini’s formation, and his absence could mean a move to the right wing for Robert Snodgrass, who has the technical skills but lacks pace, or Michail Antonio, who has pace and strength, but little to offer otherwise. [Read more…]

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Did Pellegrini expect too much from Wilshere?

October 23, 2018 By West Ham Blog Leave a Comment

It could be said that Manuel Pellegrini has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to Jack Wilshere and, despite being cautioned about the 26-year-old’s injury prone record, the Chilean still offered him a three-year deal. According to various media reports, the board weren’t as sold on the idea and were only in favour of giving the former Arsenal man a one year contract but that didn’t stop them backing Pellegrini and allowing the West Ham manager to seal the deal by offering 36 months instead of 12.

Sadly, you don’t need a fortune teller when it comes to Jack Wilshere as the midfielder’s injury problems are well documented and a quick look back over the past ten years will show you that Wilshere could be considered a high-risk asset- [Read more…]

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