West Ham United

Financial meltdown hits West Ham

Ted — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:27:39 +0000

Today for the first time our current economic woes became worth talking about, with the news that West Ham will not be able to spend money on new players any time soon. This news was followed by several reassurances from club insiders that the chairman still has significant resources and a commitment to invest in the club. However, recently the club has consistently taken less than a day to contradict its own statements, and quash newspaper reports that have invariably been proven to be true. Our chairman’s home country of Iceland has been suffering an economic crisis of astronomical proportions. It was only a short time before its largest bank, Landsbanki, our owner’s most important asset went under. Now he has been fired as its chairman, and the summer transfer activity is becoming harder and harder to defend as shrewd business, and looking more and more like a way to make some fast cash, or even asset stripping. Well, I for say that because these owners are not West Ham through and through, all I care about is their money. If they don’t have enough, then it’s time to move on. There has been talk about a certain Indian who is the world’s sixth richest man taking over. Noone is doing all to well at the minute, but this guy has more dough than Abramovic, so I would welcome him. West Ham was a club that up until not too long ago had had less than ten managers and essentially the same families owning it for its entire history. Although I liked that kind of loyaly and stability, it seems a long time ago now. So the club must move on. If the Icelanders can’t guarantee any kind of investment then hopefully some rich fatcats will come in and show some sense and a lot of green to bring some long overdue glory to West Ham. The club might be a pretty attractive proposition at the moment, being located in London and possibly available at a knockdown price. In any event, the worldwide financial crisis just got serious.

West Ham 1-3 Bolton

Ted — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:59:56 +0000

This was truly a taste of our own medicine. Today’s game was a carbon copy of last week’s win at Fulham, for the other team that is. Two goalkeeping errors in the first half gifted the away team victory, as was the case at Craven Cottage the last time out. This side has been becoming like the West Ham of old, strong at home and weaker away. The key being that after finally chalking up an away win, we throw away our good home form. The first goal came after Green spilled a hopeless punt into the box that Davies put away. The second was when he could only deflect a shot into the bath of Cahill to score Bolton’s second in the space of about 3 minutes. Cole kept up his good scoring record to give us a chance of getting a goal, and with Bellamy coming off the bench it looked like we might get the equalizer, and who knows, maybe the win. As time was ticking away though it was Bolton that scored, with Taylor scoring the kind of long shot that only he can, ruining our chance to go third in the table and continue a very good start to the season. Today’s game just highlighted how important it is to get that first goal. The league is now essentially a counter attacking one due to all the pressure and money involved. Bolton got it, we lost. Thank god there was some good news on the day, Hull beat that other London team to give them their worst start to a season for about a century. My star players were:

Neill: Not at fault for any of the goals and looked comfortable due to the lack of pace attacking him. Underwhelming choice but he should get some credit for settling in well to his new position.

Behrami: Ran all day, found claret and blue shirts unlike many other players and actually had some chances at goal, more than most on the day.

Ilunga: Strong and was rarely threatened by Bolton. Got forward really well and was one of our best attacking threats, obviously not a good sign considering he’s a defender. The Nani influence is starting to show between him and Behrami, with both looking to be good buys so far, and good value too.

Tevez is a legend, but he didn’t keep us up

Ted — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:22:28 +0000

This article intended to address not just current compensation case, but also the general assumption that Tevez kept us up singlehandedly. Don’t get me wrong, Apache is an absolute legend, there’s no player I would rather see in Claret and Blue. However, it undermines West Ham, and all the other important players involved to say he saved us on his own, and it’s just plain untrue. Therefore, attached is an interesting piece I read that sums up why the decision, based principally on the fact that Tevez was worth at least three points, is ludicrous not only as an attempted serious football judgement, that a player’s worth can be measured in points, but also that in this specific case is a ridiculous overstatement of his efforts. His contribution was nothing compared to say that ballet dancer Ronaldo’s 100-odd goals for Manure last season. So, without further ado, here is the jist of the article:

* Four of West Ham’s seven wins at the end of the 2006-07 season were by a one-goal margin. Of those, Bobby Zamora scored the winning goal in three, while Carlos Tevez grabbed the decider in just one. Of course, that game was the 1-0 win at Old Trafford on the final day.

* The Daily Telegraph’s football correspondent Henry Winter was asked by the tribunal to discuss Tevez’s impact and he made the point that West Ham wouldn’t have scored in that game were it not for Tevez. However, if the game finished goalless, West

Ham would still have finished 16th.

* Sheffield United played West Ham during West Ham’s run of seven wins from nine games and despite Carlos Tevez playing every second of the game, the Blades still won the match 3-0. Should West Ham be given these three points back?

* With nine games remaining in the season, Sheffield United led West Ham by eleven points, despite the fact Carlos Tevez was at the club for 26 of the 29 games played, over which period the Blades picked up fourteen more points than West Ham.

* The fact Sheffield United blew an eleven point lead over the final nine games, a period that even included a 3-0 victory over the Hammers, must surely be blamed on themselves.

And revealingly:

West Ham without Tevez:
P12 W4 D3 L5 Points per game: 1.25

West Ham with Tevez:
P26 W8 D2 L16 Points per game: 1

Fulham 1-2 West Ham

Ted — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:12:03 +0000

Basically a nothing match that if either team could have won by the odd goal, but in the end we got the rub of the green to take all three points and stay near the top of the table. The first half was pretty much all Fulham, but three minutes near the end of that period gifted us the victory. First, Etherington made a terrific run down the right wing and played a ball across goal that quite frankly Schwarzer made a hash of, palming it out to Cole who scored a tap in to put his midweek misdemenour behind him. Soon after that, Schwarzer made another mistake, rushing out to get a ball he never would that Etherington simply prodded into the goal. Right after that, Fulham’s Andrew Johnson received his marching orders after a second yellow from a tackle on Neill that sent his boot flying. Two nil up against ten men going into half-time and we looked comfortable having weathered the Fulham storm in the first half. The first half was more even with us creating the better chances. Ilunga and Bellamy in particular having good opportunities to put the result beyond doubt. Fulham did get one back from the penalty spot, but we held out to pick up successive league wins for the first time in a year. My star men were:

Ilunga: The departure of McCartney was the reason Curbishley cited for his departure, as it left the squad without a recognised left back. When Ilunga came in, my reaction was: who? However, I was assured by a follower of the French league that this guy is the real deal and he is starting to show it. He’s tough, he likes to get forward, and today showed that he has a mean shot too. I hope he keeps it up.

Etherington: Again one of our best attacking players. Makes the cut for the third game in a row simply due to his direct running and the obvious contribution of a goal and an assist. It’s funny that for years in a claret and blue shirt I never saw him anywhere but on the left wing, whereas today he was all over the place getting an assist from the right wing. His less predictable movement has really added to his game.

Noble: A hard worker that can run all day, but he needs to do more than graft to to become a top performer. Today he started to show some real class, playing some nice passes around including an assist for Etherington’s goal. If he can play like this, and add goals to his game, then the sky’s the limit. My man of the match.

Watford 1-0 West Ham

Ted — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:47:21 +0000

What a relief to see that despite all the upheaval we are still able to stay true to our traditions and lose to a lower league club. A changed West Ham team played out a fairly even game against a decent and direct Watford side, losing by an unlucky own goal from a set-piece. Our best chance came when we hit the bar from a corner towards the end of the match but never really threatened too much. The negatives to take out of this game is that it is a reality check, we will not play beautiful let alone all-conquering football just yet. Zola’s philosophy needs time to take hold, and our ambitions of being a major force in English football are still some years off. The honeymoon period for the manager is over, for now. The positives were a solid but unspectacular debut from Walter Lopez, and the consolation that despite its growing reputation, the Carling Cup was the least important competition we entered this year. Some might say it was a chance for silverware, but I didn’t really see that happening. The stand-out performers on the day in my book were:

Lastuvka: Proved to be a reliable deputy with much to do. One mistake led to the goal but keepers will always be punished for mistakes and despite that did well. Not a good sign though when the keeper stands out.

Mullins: Again he gets in despite scoring the own-goal. However, I think he took his chance back in the team well and did the kind of solid job we expect from him.

Etherington: Best attacking player on the pitch, creating the majority of our best chances, including making a great 70 yard run that almost led to a goal at one point. My ‘man of the match’ for showing the quality that a Premier League side should show against a lower league team. Good to see him play well for the whole 90 minutes, and to see him move around more dynamically from the left to the centre and even to the right under this new regime and formation.

This is an outrage!

Ted — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:55:56 +0000

What an absolute disgrace. Two years ago West Ham broke a rule that few people knew existed and paid the biggest fine in Premier League history because of it. Fair enough, I can bite the bullet here. However, because a certain team that finished three places below us have been unable to come to terms with the fact that they weren’t good enough on the pitch to stay up, they have endlessly appealed to any authority from which they can get revenge. West Ham indulged them and in an attempt to draw a line under the entire incident accepted a final tribunal on the matter. This tribunal, made up of three people with no football knowledge have essentially decided that Tevez was worth at least three points to West Ham that season, which would have seen us relegated in the other team’s place. Well, following that logic, he was worth a lot more than three points, so why not get Charlton in on the act who were also relegated that year. The entire argument is ridiculous anyway, as no one player’s worth in points can be measured. Every player played a huge part in our survival including Zamora, Noble, Collins, Neill and Green to name but a few. Furthermore, this completely overlooks the disruption that the arrival of Tevez caused which resulted in our poor form that led to relegation worries in the first place, and that fact that he didn’t score for the first seven months of the season anyway. Lastly, this sets a dangerous precedent. Simply by endlessly whining, this club has been able to force West Ham to go through various stages of legal battles until they finally give in. Why should a team be able to try and whine their way back into the Premiership. That team weren’t good enough on the pitch, so they went down. The chairman of that club, not content with a potentially huge payout, has already been suggesting that now he can nag his way back to the top flight as well. Anything other than performances on the pitch will do for this man. I for one hope that before this whole affair is settled, that they end up in the third tier of English football, and I would gladly see us pay them the extra money they would lose for not playing in the second level of the league pyramid.

P.S. Respect to Charlton Athletic for moving on and trying to get back to the Premier League by playing football, and shame on Dave Whelan and Al Fayed, who promised that club their support, for abandoning them as soon as their own teams managed to stay up.

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

Ted — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:10:20 +0000

What were we expecting from this new beginning with Zola at the helm. I think we all wanted West Ham to score a bunch of goals, and get the win as well of course. Well, we got it. We got entertaining football, two goals from the new guy and three points to take us to fourth in the table at this early stage of the season. As usual at Upton Park this season, we got the early goal that made life so much easier. Di Michele showed some nice skill to dribble past two players, and hit a shot that took a wicked deflection off a Newcastle defender and looped over the keeper’s head. Zola jumped higher than anyone else in the ground when the goal went to kick off the new era. Di Michele’s next goal had a touch of Di Canio to it. Put through by Noble’s pass, he hit a shot at Given that he reacted to first, letting the ball drop, he then juggled it round a defender with his right foot, and shot with his left foot into the bottom corner, not a bad Upton Park debut for the Italian. Unlike the previous two home games, where we conceded a goal after the first two and made life very nervous for ourselves, we consolidated our lead early in the second half, Di Michele again instrumental, either scuffing his shot or playing a beautifully disguised pass into the feet of Etherington who put it into the back of the net. I’ll give Di Michele the benefit of the doubt and say it was the latter. Despite Michael Owen pulling a nice goal back for the visitors, West Ham still looked comfortable, and had the better of the chances after that. All in all, a perfect day at the office. The whole side played some great stuff, but in my book, the stand out performers were:

Cole: Again commanding up front, and he looked more prepared to shoot today, something he needs to do more before he can add the goals he needs to complete his game.

Clarke: Might have been Zola in charge, but Clarke must have had a big part to play in setting us up in a 4-3-2-1 formation much like Chelsea’s, which made us less predictable and more dynamic.

Di Michele: Man of the Match in my book, two goals and an assist will do that. Will never forget the time we played Palermo in the Uefa Cup a few years ago, Di Michele made everybody else on the pitch look like an amateur in both legs. Delighted to see him in a claret and blue shirt now, and hope he keeps it up.

Benvenuto a…

AlexG — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:11:59 +0000

Right, so Curbs is out. The man never stuck me as particularly brave, and though our board is horrible he seemed to blame perhaps too much on them as a whole, and certainly did not take responsibility when it was called for. What actually happened behind the scenes, we will never know. In this case, however, I am inclined to believe that our exodus was indeed out of Curbs’ hands, and I’d be well angry as well if the board went over my head and sold the squad’s only designated left back and a promising academy product. It’s hard to hate him or anything, he was just always…there.

Now the board are pursuing a host of Italians and a Croatian as new manager. Upcoming will be an analysis of each one, and a transfer roundup, depressing as that shall be.

Match Preview: West Ham v Man City

AlexG — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:56:15 +0000

Some team news first off, apparently Sunderland are attempting to land Anton Ferdinand for around £8 million. Though the money would be nice, and we could bolster both the attack and defence with that, I have to say that I am opposed to the sale if only because it creates the notion that brilliant West Ham Academy graduates are perpetually for sale. Our academy, in addition to being the single largest contributor to the English national team, is not the EPL’s breeding ground, and we are certainly no one’s feeder club. If only to send the image that our good academy graduates don’t come easily (if at all) this sale cannot go through.

Sunderland are also making a £5 million bid for Carlton Cole. Now that’s a deal I can agree with–there’s no way that he’s realistically worth that kind of money and we could do well to acquire either Saha or Sebastian ‘The Tank’ Pinto, a 22-year old Chilean who could come on loan from Santos.

As for the match, it is now time to build on the momentum we have when we visit the Citizens at 1600 Sunday. Again, we are in the easiest stretch of matches we will have all season, and perhaps one of the easiest stretches in the prem. I truly believe that momentum can play a big part in football and we need to capitalize. New boy Kompany may start but Richard Dunne, Bojinov, and Olympic bronze medalist Jo are likely to be out. (Incidentally, does anyone else think that Mark Hughes has been playing a bit too much Football Manager 08? I mean Kompany, Jo, Bojinov…people have been making these signings for ages.) As for us, Ashton is almost definitely playing and no new injuries have been reported yet, though Anton Ferdinand is still out. Scott Parker will hopefully be fit for the match as well, and yes the others on the injury list remain steady like Inzaghi being offside. My prediction this week is a 2-0 win for us, with Ashton and Cole scoring one a piece.

Here’s a possible starting line up.

Green, Behrami, Davenport, Upson, Neill, Faubert, Parker, Noble, Etherington, Ashton, Cole.

There’s no time like the present, and we need to establish ourselves more firmly within the league. Come on you Irons!

West Ham 2-1 Wigan

AlexG — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 03:11:27 +0000

Well perhaps that should read Dean Ashton 2-1 Wigan but I’m not picky as to how we win, barring major breaches of international law, of course. As I predicted, Deano scored a brace to net the match’s goals. I never would have predicted the goals to be at minutes 3 and 10 but again, can’t be picky about the goals. Ashton did pick up a knock but surely that was easily predictable, tpp. He does look set to play next week, as inital reports are stating that he likely just cramped up. I do wish that we had kept form up for the entire match, since we totally lost form in the 2nd half. I was on the edge of my seat considering asking for divine intervention (too soon in the season, I decided) as Wigan pused on but we held on.

I still think we need to strengthen the squad, but enough for now. A win is a win, we may as well jsut enjoy it. I’ll be covering other important subjects and analysing the match more deeply as the week goes on, a week where Curbs will still have his job. For now, relax and enjoy my predictions for this 08/09 season.

1. Chelsea
2. Man U
3. Arsenal
4. Liverpool
—————
5. Portsmouth
6. Aston Villa
—————
7. Everton
8. WEST HAM UNITED
9. Tottenham
10. Man City
11. Blackburn
12. Middlesbrough
13. Newcastle
14. Wigan
15. Sunderland
16. Bolton
17. West Brom
—————-
18. Fulham
19. Hull City
20. Stoke

You heard it here first. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.