West Ham 2-2 Fulham
By: Martin |
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At least a point is a point, but after Zola’s trash talk during the week I was really expecting an all out trashing of the Cottagers. Alas, it was not to be and in the end it was a bit of mess.
Fulham started off the game lively considering that they had won only 3 out of the last 37 London derbys and early efforts by Kamara and Gera made every Hammers fan rather nervous that it would be four. But things looked up after ten minutes with future superstar Alessandro Diamanti just missing with a free kick. Five minutes later the possible onslaught began with Carlton Cole nodding in a super free kick from Diamanti. I really don’t think anyone else will take a free kick for the Hammers this year. Then minutes later the future superstar whipped in a cross that James Tomkins headed just wide.
Fulham ended up with ten men after South African, Kagisho Dikgacoi, was sent off on his debut. Dikgacoi was shown the red card when it looked like he pushed his hand into Scott Parker’s face when they were both being cautioned by the ref four minutes to the interval.
Going in at half time a goal up and a man up must have been pleasing for Zola, but it just put the fire under the Cottagers. Two minutes after the break Matthew Upson upends Diomansy Kamara in the penalty area and Danny Murphy scored from the spot.
Ten minutes later it was 2-1 to Fulham. Paul Konchesky’s corner found Zoltan Gera to shoot in from close range. After the goal Fulham sat back with the hope that the Hammer’s had no more fight, but numerous attempts on goal by Alessandro Diamanti and Carlton Cole showed that it might not be over. Zola brought on Junior Stanislas on for Zavon Hines after seventy minutes and it was that decision that brought results. As the match wound down, the Hammers continued to pepper the Fulham goal and in the second minute of added time, a long range shot from Stanislas took a wicked defection for an equalizer and total relief for Hammers fans everywhere.
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Manchester City 3-1 West Ham
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It took only four minutes for Carlos Tevez to show Hammers fans how much we all wished he was still in Claret and Blue. Tevez side footed a simple goal to put City ahead and we all wondered if this was going to be a long Monday evening.
City continued to press forward with Tevez, Petrov and ex-Hammer Bellamy taking pot-shots at Rob Green. However, against the run of play Carlton Cole equalized with a wicked back-heal after Radoslav Kovac’s shot from an Alessandro Diamanti free-kick.
It looked as though City was on the back foot with Cole unlucky with a header from a Julien Faubert cross. But the luck is definitely not on the Hammer’s side this season and City was 2-1 up with a Petrov free-kick. But Zola’s boys should have been on equal terms with Scott Parker knocking a shot in, but the ref disallowed it for some infringement earlier in the move.
After the half, future superstar Alessandro Diamanti showed how good he is from set pieces with a curled corner that was just cleared by the city defense. After that the Hammers looked promising with a shot from Luis Jimenez and then Diamanti again. But the game took a turn for the worse when ex-Hammer Bellamy floated a free-kick into the area and there was Tevez to head in his second. After that a couple of efforts from Tomkins and Diamanti marked the end of the fight and the last ten minutes had City on the attack with little reply.
Perhaps we’ll have better luck on Sunday.
Bolton 3-1 West Ham
By: Martin | 1 Comment
For so long it looked like the Hammers would beat the curse and make it into the last 16 of the Carling Cup. Seven out of the last eight seasons the Hammers haven’t progressed and they were within five minutes of being there.
After a back and forth first half, it was star defender Herita Ilunga who managed to get his foot to a loose ball in the six yard box to score after a bit of miss-hit corner from Alessandro Diamanti. However four minutes from time Bolton’s Kevin Davies headed in a cross from Matthew Taylor.
So on to extra time and things began to unwind. The Hammers looked tired and Taylor hit the post after four minutes. But Gary Cahill hit a long range shot that put Bolton ahead a minute later.
Future superstar Alessandro Diamanti hit the crossbar with a wicked curling effort with nine minutes to go, but Johan Elmander scored from close range to make it 3-1 with less than two minutes left of extra time.
West Ham 2-3 Liverpool
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It was really disappointing not to pick up a point against an in form Liverpool side. After coming back from behind twice, it looked good up to the 75th minute until the Spanish superstar Fernando Torres scored his second of the game.
Hammers started well enough with Zavon Hines striking the post after two minutes, but it was Fernando Torres who scored the opener after twenty minutes. Things started to go from bad to worse with both Mathew Upson and Valon Behrami, just back after injury, hobbling off five minutes after the Liverpool goal.
However, within five minutes Jamie Carragher chopped down Zavron Hines and new boy Alessandro Diamanti stepped up and used both feet to slot the penalty down the center of Pepe Reina’s goal. Despite whining from the Liverpool players, Diamanti is starting to pay back some of Zola’s faith in him.
Four minutes before the break, ex-Hammer, Yossi Benayoun floated over a corner for Gerrard to knock down a header for Dirk Kuyt to put Liverpool back on top. However the lead was short lived with goal machine, Carlton Cole getting above the Liverpool defenders and heading in to make it 2-2.
It seemed as though the majority of the Hammers side was suffering from exhaustion and goal scorer, Diamanti was replaced by Kieron Dyer, who was not injured this week. The Upton Park crowd gave new boy Diamanti a standing ovation.
Unfortunately a point was not to be had. Babel picking chipped the ball to Torres who nodded in his second.
And Now, The End Is Near, And So I Face…
By: Martin | 1 Comment
From news reports this week, it is becoming clearer that Dean Ashton may be at the end of his playing career. The talk this week was of the Hammers cashing on the insurance policies and sending Deano out to pasture. The 25 year old has not made any recovery in the last year since his current injury and that make be sufficient for Zola to say enough is enough. Of couse, Deano’s $60k a week salary may be the final nail in his coffin when the new boys like Diamante and Franco are out there scoring.
Hammers Pick Up Another Striker
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Looks like the Hammers have snatched up another striker, this time out-of-contract Guillermo Franco, most recently at the Spanish club, Villarreal. The 32 year old Argentinean, but plays for Mexico, has been a decent goalscorer, hitting 14 goals in 81 appearances with Villarreal and 6 goals in 19 international matches with the Mexican national team. Probably will not see him against Liverpool on Saturday, but hopefully he can make an impact later this month.
Wigan 1-0 West Ham
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A big disappointment for the Hammers. After being so successful at Wigan over the last two seasons, the Hammers were involved in a pretty boring match up and lost to a single goal from Rodallega, ten minutes after half time. The first half saw a couple of great saves from Rob Green while at the other end, some dismal defending by Wigan’s Chris Kirkland almost let Zavon Hines in. Zavon was making the most of his opportunity and caused Wigan some issues in the first 45 minutes, including a call for a penalty when he was brought down by Maynor Figueroa close to the edge of the box.
After the break, it was only ten minutes before Wigan’s Koumas fired one at Rob Green who blocked it, but Rodallega was poked one in. After that only the introduction of new boy Diamanti almost brought the Hammers back on level terms when he hit the post from a tight angle. On the bright side for the Hammers, it looks like it won’t be long before Alessandro Diamanti will be on the scoring sheet, hopefully next week at home against Liverpool.
Wigan v West Ham Preview
By: Martin | 2 Comments
Venue: DW Stadium (somewhere up North)
Kick-off: Saturday, 12th September 2009 – 15:00 BST (10:00 EST)
Coverage: BBC Radio 5
Hopefully the Hammers can continue their winning ways against Wigan. Both meetings last season were wins, with Carlton Cole scoring the winner at the DW Stadium in March.
Zola has the opportunity to give new boys Manuel da Costa and Alessandro Diamanti a run, while Valon Behrami got through the reserves match on Tuesday without a hitch, so options are available. Kieron Dyer is out, again, with a knock, so there is a chance for Junior Stanislas or Josh Payne to make an impression.
Zola Rents a Ferrari
By: Martin | 4 Comments
But this Ferrari is 17 years old, does not go much over 10 mph and will surely cost more in the long run than a brand spanking new F430. Apparently Zola managed to secure the services of Davide Ferrari from Brescia Calcio before the transfer window, but due to obtaining clearances, the deal was not announced until yesterday. The Italian defender will be at Upton Park on a season’s loan with a view to a permanent signing. Coincidentally, ex-Hammer Walter Lopez, who was released at the end of last season after only five appearances, is currently plying his trade at Brescia Calcio. And one more link between the two clubs is that Savio Nsereko was bought from Brescia Calcio in January, before he was exchanged for Fiorentina’s Manuel da Costa last month.
Once fifty percent of the Hammers first team is from Italy, I will be writing these entries in Italian. Ciao for now.
Lucas Neill: Spain or Sunderland? Duh…
By: Martin | 4 Comments
Yesterday every news outlet was reporting that Lucas Neill, the out of contract Hammer, had joined Atlético Madrid for a £2 million payday, but today it’s all gone Pete Tong. British tabloids are reporting today that Lucas is now linked with Sunderland and could expect a cool £3 million contract.
Atlético needed cover for John Heitinga who joined Everton, but reports say that Neill was taking too long to decide, while others say the Atlético lost interest. Sunderland has some defense problems with ex-Hammer George McCartney out of action for up to six weeks with hamstring problems, so a move for Neill may make sense for Steve Bruce at this time.
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