West Ham thread
cOLLISON SHOULD HAVE SCORED HIT POST, dI mICHELLE AND cOLE MISSED 1 V 1 CHANCES AND dI mICHELLE HIT UPRIGHT WITH A GREAT CURVING BALL.
wE NEED A SECOND.
Comentators statement. 1 - 0 is not a lead???
Why do commentators/media hate us so much?
2-0 it ends. Not bad result, will take the 3 points gladly but could have been worse for the Tigers.
West Ham have signed Czech Republic midfielder Radoslav Kovac on loan from Spartak Moscow until the end of the season.
The 29-year-old, who was captain at Spartak, can also play in central defence and brings a wealth of experience from his country's World Cup 2006 and Euro 2008 campaigns.
Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola is delighted to have signed a player who is used to Champions League and UEFA Cup level.
"I am pleased to have Radoslav here," Zola told the club's official website, www.whufc.com.
"He has a lot of experience with the national team and he will give us competition in a midfield - which is already very strong. I am sure he will help us with what we are trying to achieve this season."
Kovac, who had his medical earlier today, watched his new team-mates in training before the deal was completed tonight.
West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury confirmed his club have an option to make the signing permanent if it is agreeable to both parties.
Since Nani has arrived we have sold British and bought European/other, without exception.
The crunch has now come where one of the home grown lads are going to have to make way for Kovacs.
West Ham are going from being a club that have thrived and survived on home grown youth from the academy. Now the academy is getting stacked with Czechs, Poles, Icelandics and Italians.
Zola has a great deal of admiration for Wenger in the way he has developed a young squad following extensive use of French players, but will the West Ham fans feel the same about a claret & blue team of foreigners?
What price success.
uiron2009-01-31 13:08:11
I dont think we are going to become a team of foreigners like the arse. As HH mentioned the british players not to forget kyle reid etc. Football is all business now and the days of producing loyal local servants to the club are well and truly over and has been for years.
The price of success stems from good business which WHU has excelled on so many times in the past. Bellamy is a prime example. The Zola, Clarke combo seems to be working very very well.
A shame that Cole couldn't make it six games in a row.
Green was good in goal. Parker played very good, making tackles when needed. Not too much of an impact from de michelle. smudger2009-02-01 09:14:24
West Ham became the first team to hold Arsenal goalless at The Emirates.
Yesterday Scott Duxbury said if Faubert goes we will move quickly to replace him, and although the official site hasnt confirmed he has gone, it would seem he has.So much for reducing the squad.(Now confirmed).
The game.
Solid defence display that probably achieved what Zola's intentions were.
Strong games from Collins and Upson.
Green only had one real shot to save and that went straight at him. The rest was usual housework for him.
Big workrate from all of the midfield.Collison, Parker, Noble and Bahrani, perhaps thinking about the arrival of Kovacs
Di Michelle and Cole had very little ball to work with which probably exposed a weakness for us against the top teams.
The new boy had 20 minutes but like the other two up front, didnt have many, if any opportunities.
Boa Morte got another run ahead of Sears????
Still a point away to Arsenal isnt too bad.
Man U kept a clean sheet so the bubble is there for us to burst next week, but we will have to create a few more chances than we did this week.
After Man U we have Bolton A, Man City H, Wigan A, WBA H, Blackburn A, hopefully with a couple of cup games thrown in.
uiron2009-02-01 10:20:19
West Ham became the first team to hold Arsenal goalless at The Emirates.
No. Villa did.
Don't believe what you read in the papers
Question every decision a referee makes.
Football is full of dodgy people.
The preview comments read: "Live coverage as Manchester United take on a disappointing West Ham side at Upton Park.
Hmmm.
Disappointing in that we have lost 3 of our last sixteen games
Disappointing that we are only 7th equal in the league
Disappointing in that we have only been able to get draws away to Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool
Disappointing that we only seem to beat Man United in 50% of our last 6 games
Really boys, we should have done a lot better.
If you want to wish another team well, try Chelsea. If Scollari gets sacked, wouldnt they love to have Zola and Clarke back again.
Moon is described as an attacking right-back brimming with technical ability. When the player originally sealed his move to Panathinaikos it was off the back of a trial in which he impressed the technical staff with his speed off the mark and his tactical awareness. Although comfortable in defence, Moon built his early reputation as an attacking right-sided midfielder for Ajax Cape Town, where he made a telling contribution to the success of the Urban Warriors in the 2007 Manguang Cup, the ABSA Cup and the ABSA Premiership.
The Bafana Bafana international has captained his national side at three different age groups and has the sobriquet 'Scooter' (presumably because of his renowned speed rather than his love for Teutonic techno or an interest in modernist subculture). He was a 100 metre national sprint champion at under-17 and under-19 level and will link up with fellow countrymen Steven Pienaar, Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena in England's top flight if the deal is completed in time.
Moon, a flying winger was one. The other was Radiu Homei, a right back. (Bye Bye Lucas one thinks).
The good news is that Herita Ilunga has been given a permanent contract. I remember how disappointed I was when they let McArtney go but this guy is better.
Signings that look good to date since Nani took over, headed by a medical team that has emptied out the Physio room. Will be interesting to see if they pursevere with Ashton, Gabbidon and Dyer once they are fit. Already noises that they will off load them in the summer.
If you want to wish another team well, try Chelsea. If Scollari gets sacked, wouldnt they love to have Zola and Clarke back again.
If you want to wish another team well, try Chelsea. If Scollari gets sacked, wouldnt they love to have Zola and Clarke back again.
Scolari is working to new budgets and financial restrictions where Mourinho had none, and there is no suggestion that patience is running out at Chelsea. But there has always been an understanding that qualification for the Champions League and a coherent challenge on all fronts were expected at the very least. Across the capital a pair of Chelsea icons in Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke are excelling at Upton Park and their progress will not go unnoticed for long. Scolari, back in the snow at Cobham, cannot afford to let disappointment see his Premier League season drift.
No injuries
Teams around us dropped points
Kovacs on the bench one step away from nudging Neill
Zola has said he would not waslk out on West Ham
Tottenham still in the cr*p.
Of concern
Not that he has had much of a run, but I havent seen Seivo do anything flash yet, or even ordinary.
No injuries
Teams around us dropped points
Kovacs on the bench one step away from nudging Neill
Zola has said he would not waslk out on West Ham
Tottenham still in the cr*p.
Of concern
Not that he has had much of a run, but I havent seen Seivo do anything flash yet, or even ordinary.
Gianfranco Zola's lawyer has refused to rule the West Ham boss out of the running to become the new manager of Chelsea.
The Blues legend has already emerged as one of the favourites to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was sacked by the London giants on Monday.
Zola has impressed hugely at West Ham, after only taking charge at Upton Park in September.
But Chelsea fans are keen to see the Italian - who is assisted by Jose Mourinho's former number two Steve Clarke - back at Stamford Bridge.
Zola's lawyer Fulvio Marrucco has been quick to confirm that although no approach has been made, Chelsea could be hard to turn down.
"At the moment we know nothing about the link between Gianfranco Zola and the vacant position at Chelsea," Marrucco said in a statement.
"Gianfranco is very happy at West Ham and still thanks them for giving him the opportunity to be a coach in the Premier League.
"It is very difficult to say if anything will happen but Chelsea is a special place for Gianfranco Zola."
22 min - GOAL! Football really is a funny old game. Alves leads a counter-attack and finds Downing on the left. He works the ball back out to O'Neil on the right wing. The former Portsmouth man crosses, the ball eludes Collins and Upson and England winger Downing is on hand to head past Green from close-range. That is a complete sucker-punch.
22 min - This is complete one-way traffic at the moment. Di Michele sees his shot blocked as West Ham continue to press.
21 min - Ilunga wins yet another corner. Noble takes again and, following a game of penalty area pinball, Didier Digard hacks the ball clear.
20 min - Boro cannot get hold of the ball at all. They have not been out of their own half for nearly five minutes.
18 min - Boa Morte foces Hoyte to concede a corner. Noble takes, but an unmarked David Di Michele is unable to make contact with an acrobatic volley. Seconds later, Jones flies to his right to repel James Collins' blockbuster. Surely an opening goal will arrive soon?
17 min - I told you it would liven up! Boa Morte and Collison combine to set up Noble, but Jones is alert and pushes aside his rasping shot.