West Ham United Blog | Analysis & News
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West Ham United co-owner David Gold has admitted the club are short of a striker, but echoes David Sullivan in saying we must sell before we can buy due to imposed wage caps.
Andy Carroll is currently struggling with a heel injury, which leaves Mali international Modibo Maiga as the clubs only fit striker at the moment. [Read more…]
West Ham have received a boost with the return to training of midfield player Jack Collison after a knee injury.
Collison, 24, is a Welsh international and has not played for Sam Allardyce’s Hammers’ this season after undergoing surgery on the troublesome knee this summer, however the academy product is now back in training and pushing for a place in the squad for the game against West Bromwich Albion.
This will come as a welcome boost to manager Sam Allardyce who lost Mo Diame to injury during the defeat to Liverpool and is already without Andy Carroll, Yossi Benayoun, Alou Diarra and George McCartney who picked up an injury in training this week.
Speaking to SkySports Jack Collison said:
It’s been frustrating, just because it has been my knee injured, everyone has jumped to the conclusion that I’m walking wounded and will never be the same again.
That’s not true. I’ve had surgery but I’ll be back as strong as ever and I’m desperate to play in the Prem again. It’s been a nightmare not being able to help the lads.
Collison has struggled with this knee problem big time and at 24 he has already missed more than a year of football for West Ham. He has likened his injury to the Ledley King situation where he will have to be monitored:
My knee will have to be managed to some extent but it won’t make me any less of a player, I want to play on for as long as I can. I met Ray Wilkins
recently and he played into his 40s. He was such an inspiration.
Lets hope Jack can now get a good injury free run under his belt as we are short on central midfield players at present and he was looking a good prospect before the injuries started kicking in.
Iron Bobby – West Ham United Blog
Jack Collison upset his fellow countrymen last night with both goals in the two nil win for West Ham.
Collison was all smiles last night after giving The Hammers a great away result, thus putting Sam Allardyce’s men in a superb position for the second leg at 4pm on Monday 7th at The Boleyn.
The first of his goals came in the 8th minute when Ricardo Vaz Te cut back from a ball over the top of the defence, Collison’s strike was saved but the midfielder followed up and headed in from close range. He added his second shortly before half time with a sweet strike from outside the box following a corner, it took a deflection from a Cardiff players head but we don’t care about that!
Speaking to WHUFC.com:
“The first one I think I did my hardest to miss it, to be honest! It was a great ball from Vaz [Ricardo Vaz Te] and he put it on a plate for me. I’ve hit the keeper and luckily it has bounced out for me and I’ve managed to knock it in.
“The second one, it has bounced out to me and Matty [Taylor] was in my ear telling me to shoot so I thought ‘Why not?’ and I caught it quite sweet. It took a little deflection but I think it was going in anyway!
“They all count and it’s great to get the goals, but like I said it was a real team performance.”
So we are in the driving seat ahead of the second leg but we know all about counting chickens before they hatch, however our home form has picked up of late so unless we self destruct we should have enough about us to finish the job and have a nice day out at Wembley! COYI!
A brace by Hammer Jack Collison at Cardiff last night gave the irons hope in the first leg of their playoff with the Welsh team.
Even Sam Allardyce had to admit that “it was a great night” as his boys firmly planted one foot on the Wembley turf on their road to redemption and back to the Prem.
Cardiff now have to come down to our “manor” in East London and bring it if they want any glory. It’s going to be a tough game at Upton Park for the boyos in blue and the hammers are ready to take them on.The match will be on Bank Holiday Monday so expect a large and lively crowd for that one.
Of course, anything can happen in these games as we have seen all throughout this season. I think the Hammers can hold their heads cool and keep their nerves – I can’t see it being too big a problem to put away another few goals at the Park.
Big Sam said:
“This has been a great night for us but it’s only 90 minutes gone of a two-legged game and anything can happen.”
“We nullified their threat and restricted them to minimal chances on their own ground. Tactically, we did everything right.
“There’s no pressure on Cardiff, they can come and try to claw something but this result gives us a great platform”.
I have to agree with the boss on nullifying Cardiff as the boys did a good job and to be fair Cardiff looked pretty dangerous at times throughout the game and even tested Rob Green in the first 10 minutes or so of the first half.
Ok, so it might not be a cakewalk but we are two goals up thanks to Jack Collison and Cardiff will have to attack if they want to spoil the party.
This is just what West ham needed, too. A clean sheet and a couple of goals – you can’t ask for anymore, can you?
Cardiff boss Malky Mackay said this about his team:
“We’re disappointed with their first goal and our defending”.
Make no mistake though Cardiff will come down here on Monday thinking they are two down and it’s only half time. The boys need to be on the ball and a goal or two will seal the deal I think.
The funny thing is that Collison is a Wales midfielder, so that must have gone down like a hole in the head for the boyos down at Cardiff 🙂 Cardiff have been trying to get into the Premier League for three seasons now and Collison’s double might make the Welsh side wait another year – we will see!
The mighty Hammers have kept their hopes of automatic promotion alive from tonight with a 2-1 win at Leicester City.
Knowing anything less than a win would gift Southampton the second automatic promotion place, West Ham knew they had to do the business and were definitely in the mood.
It looked like it could be slipping away when Beckford popped up with a header in the first half for Leicester against the run of play.
If Leicester thought this would rock West Ham then they were wrong, because The Irons went straight on the attack again like they had been for much of that half and grabbed a well deserved equaliser through the unlikely source of Winston Reid within 5 minutes, who finished from close range from a delightful Matty Taylor cross, not sure where our forwards were but I was happy our Kiwi defender was to hand!
Carlton Cole was in a ding dong battle with the Leicester City defence and proved a real handful for them until he was substituted in the second half.
Into the second half and Leicester made some changes, probably concerned by how dominant West Ham were in the first half.
The changes didn’t work as West Ham were still on top and creating chances, and in the 58th minute one was finally taken with Jack Collison smashing home from outside the box with a lovely strike. Fortunately for us Collison was still on the pitch to score as Henri Lansbury was on the sidelines waiting to replace the Welshman.
Vaz Te set-up Collison again inside the box only for a defender to nip in and win the ball much to Vaz Te’s frustration who thought Jack should have been more aware.
Nolan then spurned a gift of a chance in the last minute and instead of playing the ball to Lansbury who had an open goal he went for glory and missed the best chance of the match. West Ham nearly paid for this as Leicester got a free kick in the 4th minute of injury time and pumped it into the box with Winston Reid nearly kicking the Tigers players head off and giving away a penalty, fortunately it came to nothing and West Hams slim chance of automatic promotion remains alive.
Vaz Te impressed me again though and looked very lively and if we do go into the play off’s then I think he could be the man to win it for us.
So another eventful West Ham game and a nervous final day of the season although Southampton remain in the box seat. COYI!
TEAMS:
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Peltier, Konchesky, Bamba, Morgan, Marshall, King, Drinkwater, Wellens, Beckford, Nugent
Subs: St.Ledger, Howard, Dyer, Waghorn, Vassell
West Ham United: Green, Demel, Taylor, Reid, Tomkins, Noble, Nolan, Collison, O’Neil, Vaz Te, Cole
Subs: Baldock, Faubert, Diop, Lansbury, Collins
