Match Preview – Fulham (h)

By five o’clock this afternoon we will know a lot more about Zola’s West Ham side.  Today’s London derby against Fulham at Upton Park is effectively a cup final, and it will need to be played like one.  Fulham will be more than up for this, they rested players on Thursday in the Europa League with us in mind.  It’s as much a must win game for them as it is for us.  Game on.

Three points could take us up to fourteenth place in the Premiership, a jump of five places.  Defeat however will leave us rooted in the bottom three.  We simply have to win.

Matty Upson may return from his calf injury but Jack Collison’s return looks unlikely, new recruit Franco is not yet fully fit but my feature off the bench.  Zavon Hines may return to the starting line up after being boosted by his England U21’s call up midweek.

Likely line up :

Green

Faubert – Tomkins – Upson – illunga

Parker – Noble

Diamanti                        Jiminez

Hines – Cole

Talking Hammers Prediction – West Ham 2-0 Fulham

Friday Night Round Up (2-10-09)

Here we go again peoples – ‘The Friday Night round Up’.

The defeat to Manchester City last Monday night was inevitable.  Just by looking at the forward options available to both sides it becomes clear what an against the odds challenge it was:-

Manchester City :- Bellemy, Tevez, Santa Cruz, ect.

West Ham :- Cole………………….Hines?…….

I think Zola would have looked at these fixtures (City,Liverpool) and not expected to get much from them.  What was important though was the performances.

I felt the performance in both the Liverpool and Manchester City game were nothing to be ashamed of.  Lets face it, in the City game we should have come of the pitch at half time with the scores level at 2-2, and how many teams will be able to say that during the course of the season ?.

Sunday however is a different story.  It’s hard to believe we have a must win game this early in the campaign – but we do.  Failing to beat Fulham at home would create a not only a massive media reaction but also turn most of the fans towards the negative thinking of relegation.

Many fans and pundits are already saying we are on the tracks to relegation, i feel some perspective is needed.  I’ve compared our results so far to the corresponding fixtures last year – its cheered me up !! look :-

Wolves (weren’t in Premiership 08/09, so for comparison lets put in West Brom away) 3-2 defeat

Wigan (a) 0-1 win

Blackburn (a) 1-1 Draw

Tottenham (h) 0-2 defeat

Liverpool  (h) 0-3 defeat

Manchester City (a) 3-0 defeat

Points Total 4

Points of view ‘Talking Hammers ? – please comment.

Keep The Faith

West Ham fans will always be hard to please.  I am no exception.  We as West Ham fans have and always will expect more from our club.  For years we’ve seen our ‘Acadamy of football’ conveyor belt passing world class talent through Upton Park into the World of football.  We’ve attracted special players to our club because of who we are, the football we play and the players we produce.  Many West Ham fans will tell you we won the World Cup, a constant reminder stands at the beginning of Greenstreet in the form of a 4-tonne bronze statue of Moore, Hurst and Peters.

Moore - Hurst - Peters - and Wilson

The point is we are proud.  We as supporters have made an emotional investment in this football club.  It hurts when we are losing – to the point of ruining a weekend.

Today we find ourselves in the bottom three of the Premiership.  I agree it hasn’t been the best of starts, but our league position is false.  Fans have to look at what we have been up against in our opening games.  Some will argue that “if we aren’t expecting to beat the good sides we play why are we even trying to compete in the Premier division”, but when you re-examine the league games we’ve played the facts are as follows :-

Wolves (a) 0-2 Win

Two nill away win against the newly promoted winners of the championship.  Tricky first game of the campaign in front of there ‘still celebrating’ crowd.

Spurs (h) 1-2 Defeat

One – two loss to our big rivals.  Disappointing but we played well, creating many chances and taking the lead in spectacular fashion before two serious lacks of concentration gifted Spurs the points.

Tottenham are currently fourth in the league after beating burley 5-0 yesterday.

Blackburn (a) 0-0 Draw

A very poor game and performance.  We held the ball well but never looked like scoring or conceding.  Would have expected to pick up three points.

Wigan (a) 0-1 Defeat

This game could have gone either way – maybe we should have had a goal with Carlton Cole’s disallowed effort just before halftime but thats football.

Yesterday Wigan beat the league leaders Chelsea 3 – 1 !!

Liverpool (h) 2-3 Defeat

A classic game in which we took on last years Premier league runners up on style.  Could have and should have led the game inside the first two minutes.  Never gave up and always looked a threat.

Yesterday Liverpool beat Hull City 6 – 1 !

We have two games in hand –  the first of which is against Manchester City on Monday night.  Bookies will tell you we won’t win.  In fact the current odds average is ‘seven to one’ that we will take three points from Eastlands (maybe worth a tenner?).  So it is likely we will lose away to the rich boys.  This will fuel the relegation fears in fans and surely provoke the first cries of Zola out – which would be ridiculous.

What we currently have in the making is what we have always wished for.  The current crop of young players Tony Carr has produced seem really special.  Players such as James Tomkins and Jack Collinson are showing levels of football maturity rarely seen at such a young age.  Not to mention the excitement provoked by the recent performances of Zavon Hines and Junior Stanislas.

This sort of youth product isn’t seen at many clubs in the country and if  we can just start holding on to them we really are a good team in the making.  Zola is perfect for this – This is why he has been brought to the club.  Keep the faith.

Penny for your thoughts Talking Hammers ?

Friday Night Round Up

Once again Talking Hammers will dissolve the weeks West Ham related activities in our regular feature – ‘ The Friday Night Round Up’.  It’s been another disappointing week to be a Hammer’s fan, but chin up, it’s been a lot worse than this.

We start our seven day round up with the highly entertaining game against Liverpool last Saturday.  Throughout the aftermath of the match many a West Ham fan were predicting a season of doom and gloom.  We wonder if these negative fans were the same fans who campaigned against the Alan Curbishley regime.  During which, although sometimes boring, we did seem to win this type of game.  We asked for attacking, attractive football and that is what Zola is giving us.

The least said about the Bolton game the better.  We started really well and looked like we had the beating of them, but it wasn’t to be.  Teams simply can’t give Bolton that many set pieces and expect to keep a clean sheet.  Our fitness does seem to be an issue as we look very tired in the last quarter of games, this needs to be improved.

With no game this weekend we could find ourselves in the bottom three come sunday night.  How much can we really expect from monday nights trip to the City of Manchester ?, it would need a really special performance to take home three points.  Do we have it in our locker ?

Comments please.

Is Fitness an Issue?

Zola in Thought - Photo Taken from The Guardian Newspaper

During the last two games it seems we have run out of steam with twenty minutes to go.  Is it just me or have we got a slight fitness problem.

Carlton Cole looked shattered against Liverpool and others carried the body language of a team in the deaths of extra time of an epic cup game.  Alright, Saturday was a case of us putting in one hundred and fifteen percent to make up for the difference in quality.  However, something is pulling me back to pre-season and our lack of first team outings.

I can’t seem to erase the horrible memories of that Asian Cup game against Tottenham, they appeared to be weeks ahead in terms of pre-season fitness.  Yes we had one friendly canceled but wasn’t both teams heading for the same Premier League weekend.

I fear, because of the of shallow squad we have, players were deliberately under worked in pre-season to avoid burn out and injury.  I might be clutching at straws but something is a miss ?

Penny for you thoughts Talking Hammers ?

Bolton Preview – Carling Cup

Before the dust even settles from the weekend we find ourselves on yet another match day.  Tonight the team travel to The Reebok to face a Gary Megson’s Bolton side in the Carling Cup.

Zola will almost certainly give us our first view of Mexican  Guillermo Franco.  I suspect in place of Carlton Cole.  Zola has openly spoken of his preferred formation which features one main striker with two smaller forwards just behind him.  Zola will find it hard to drop Zavon Hines after the weekend and Diamanti should also start as he needs to get games under his belt.  Inter Milan’s Luis Jiminez is available after missing the five goal Liverpool thriller on Saturday but should only start on the bench.

We have never liked going to the Reebok and normally struggle to get a result but I think tonight will be different.  The Bolton fans aren’t happy with the Megson style of football and will soon turn on the home side if it doesn’t go their way.  I predict a two nil win to West Ham with Hines and Franco getting on the score sheet.

What do you think Talking Hammers – Please Comment

West Ham v Millwall Investigation Update

Frank Nouble Halts Fan - Photo Taken From The Independent Newspaper

The official FA website has today spoken out about the investigation into the Millwall Carling Cup game.  Full Quote below.

An update on investigations into the events at the West Ham and Millwall game.

The FA’s extensive investigations into the events at the recent West Ham versus Millwall fixture are drawing to a close.

CCTV footage from approximately 47 cameras inside Upton Park is still being examined along with other lines of enquiry.

Both clubs have co-operated and provided assistance in relation to the enquiry and The FA expects to be in a position to confirm the outcome of the investigation in the coming week.

The FA has also been liaising closely with the Metropolitan Police in connection with the disorder outside the ground, whilst West Ham published photographs in Saturday’s matchday programme to assist in the identification process.

Quote Source – TheFA.com

Talking Hammer have interviewed two West Ham stewards who were on duty on the night in question.  Unfortunately we can’t post the interviews until the investigation has closed.  However we can reveal that West Ham United security had a well thought out game plan and the general feeling is that it was a success.

I can’t see us being chucked out of the competition as it would be difficult to blame the nights events solely on West Ham United.  A small fine is a likely outcome with strict guidelines for future clashes with such rivals put in place.  My only fear is that the FA will want to show the world they will come down hard on such incidents to ease the impact it has on England’s 2018 World Cup bid.  Lets wait and see.

Please comment – The site needs you !

Match Review – Liverpool (H)

Torres Brace Beats West Ham - Photo From The Telegraph Newspaper

West Ham United 2

(Diamanti (pen) 29, Cole 45)

Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson (Gabbidon 25), Ilunga, Behrami (Kovac 28), Parker, Noble, Hines, Diamanti (Dyer 65), Cole

Subs: Kurucz, Spector, Payne, Nouble

Liverpool 3

(Torres 20, 75, Gerrard 42)

Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Insua, Mascherano, Gerrard, Benayoun (Aurelio 85), Lucas, Kuyt (Babel 60), Torres (Riera 90)

Subs: Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Degen, Dossena

West Ham lost by the odd goal in five after a lively clash at Upton Park with Liverpool this afternoon.  After being involved in two very dull matches against Blackburn and Wigan, fans were finally treated to a game you just couldn’t take your eyes off.

Right from the second minute the game was alive.  Hines robbed Carragher to give himself a one on one with Pepe Reina only to see his shot thump back off the post.  Liverpool also had some early chances with ex-hammer Benayoun coming close with a low drive and Torres shooting wide.

It was Liverpool who took the lead with a classic Torres goal.  The Spanish striker beat Tomkins and rode a late Upson tackle before beating Green at the near post.  Upson never recovered from the late challenge and was replaced by Danny Gabbidon shortly after.  Things looked bad for West Ham three minutes later as Valon Behrami left the field almost in tears after suffering injury twenty eight minutes into his first start since his knee injury last season.  Then, right out of the blue West Ham got themselves back into game.  Zavon Hines burst down the left wing and into the area before being brought down for a penalty, up stepped Alessandra Diamanti.  The Italian slipped as he struck the ball, but somehow managed to find the back of the net.

West Ham seemed to have the upper edge before Steven Gerrard headed a Benayoun corner on to Kuyt who poked Liverpool ahead on forty two minutes.  A real blow before half time.  This though, only seemed to lift West Ham as they went on to win a free kick via the ever threatening Hines.  The resulting Diamanti set piece was defelceted wide by the Liverpool wall.  Noble then sent in a peach of a corner and Carlton Cole nodded home to equalise on the stroke of half time.  Game on!

The Second half carried on like the first with both sides attacking on the break.  Diamanti grew with the game and tested Pepe Reina with a trademark curling corner that was just tipped past the head of Hines.  The game then started to slow down as both teams seemed to tire.  Kieron Dyer came on and looked lively on a couple of occasions before Torres dealt the killer blow.  He out jumped two West Ham defenders to head an excelent Babel cross pass Rob Green.  West Ham failed to recover and finished another Premier League game without any points.

I must say I really enjoyed this game and felt we gave a really good account of ourselves.  Stats will say its our worse start to a season for years but this was a game against a team that nearly won the premiership last year.  Losing a five goal thriller against such opposition is really not that bad.  Role on Manchester City.

P.s. A little side note.  When I cancel my ESPN subscription after the Manchester City game Monday week, my reason will be Chris Waddle.  How this man gets commentary jobs is beyond me.  Anyone agree ?

Dean Ashton Update

Dean Ashton - Photo taken from The Sun Newspaper

Gianfranco Zola has finally broke the silence over Dean Ashton.  He spoke on the subject of the ever absent striker during Fridays press conference.

“I can’t say ‘I’ll give you three months’, I can’t force his progress along. But I do respect his willingness to come back and I am going to be supportive to him, not the one who is pushing him.”

“We have not discussed that (retirement) at all and anyway he knows I trust him and whatever he does I have been trying to help and will keep trying to help him.”

“He is one of the players that I have had a lot of hopes for I have been waiting one year and I have not had him.”

“According to everyone, including myself, he was one of the best players of the team.  He made my job much more difficult.”

“I am very sorry for the boy and I imagine what he is going through and that he is suffering a lot. All my thoughts are with him. I wish that he will find his way forward as soon as possible.”

“I have not interacted with him very much because he has been out, He knows that I want him very much and he is one of the players that if I had him on the pitch our performances would have been better.”

Gianfranco Zola 18-9-09

The day Dean Ashton Held my Daughter

I Met Dean Ashton in 2007 and what struck me was how down to earth he was.  He was just like a normal bloke off the street, openly telling me about his home life and how his wife was expecting his  first  baby.  He even asked to hold my four month old Daughter.  He was very excited about playing for West Ham.  I wish Dean the best of luck for the future, hopefully he can put this nightmare behind him and crack on with his career.  He is, after all, still only 25 years old.

Dean Ashton is now the only noticeable absentee from the first team squad ahead of tonights home tie with Liverpool.  Zola has fit again Valon Behrami, Kieron Dyer and left  back Herita llunga all available.

Friday Night Round Up

On the eve of another fascinating Premier League weekend its time for our usual Friday night round up.

Juilan Dicks reunited with former team mate John Moncur on Tuesday when Grays athletic appointed the West Ham legend as their new manager.  Juilan’s first game in charge is against Altrincham on Saturday.

West Ham reserves only managed a draw against Wolves on Tuesday night.  However the team only featured a few first team players, nothing like the line up seen in the Birmingham game.

Guillermo Franco has finally been officially unveiled as a West Ham player.  I hear the 32-year-old Mexican is in great physical condition having avoided injury most of his career.  He looks like good cover for Carlton Cole and slightly eases the striker fears that fans have for the season.  It’s unclear if he will be available for Liverpool on  Saturday.

Which brings us to the Liverpool game, our second match featured live on the ESPN channel.  We have a habit of raising our game against the big boys and will need to on Saturday night.   The Upton Park crowd will be up for this game and could give us that extra percent needed to take the points.  Liverpool were poor in the Champions League on Wednesday, lets hope it continues.  I expect Diamanti to start and be inspired by the atmosphere a game like this brings.