As of writing this, the season has seen us have 1 home and 1 away performance. I won't talk about the table as this is practically pointless at the moment and won't really come to light until another few games are played, but I do not blame any West Ham fan for having a little smile when they do see our current position, or more importantly our Goal Difference, not only is it a plus, but we also haven't conceded.
In our home game against Cardiff, we looked very comfortable, especially on the ball, although for a home game against a newly promoted team, I did still feel we let them have a little too much of the ball, luckily for us they seemed to lack the cutting edge that they had in their game against Manchester City, thus never really creating any chances. In that game Jussi faced one shot on goal. Credit where it is due, Sam really does seem to have got the best out of our defence, Demel and O'Brien look comfortable either side of the pairing of Reid and Collins, who have both started the season where they left off on the last. Winston Reid especially seems to be improving every game, I'm a big fan of his now, he battles for everything, strong on and off the ball and up for any header in his path, Collins on the other hand I'm still unconvinced, yes he is very good defensively, he will block everything, but as soon as he has the ball, he is more likely to look long than short, this is good at times, especially when Andy Carroll is in the side, as the big man just seems to get his head onto everything and the wide players and Nolan are always looking for it, but I can't help but feel, when he isn't in the side, our wide players aren't as eager to get near the front man, I noticed this with Carlton last year and Maiga this year a little but not as much. Whenever the ball last season especially went long to Carlton, the players such as Vaz Te, Jarvis & Nolan, just never got near him, so even when Carlton did win the ball, it ended up going straight back to the other side, it did seem Carroll brought a lot more confidence to our midfield going forward at least. I sometimes just wish Collins would happily knock it out wide or forward now and then before going long, but Allardyce probably likes this about him as it straight away gets the opposing team on the back foot, but I'd just like us to mix it up a little bit more. This could just be because I'm a fan of passing football, but I also feel we have the quality in midfield to mix it up and maybe play shorter a little more. I also feel sorry for Tomkins as it looks like he will be the third choice centre back from now on, it's an awful shame as this young player was once looking destined to become one of the clubs favourite home grown players in a while, but ever since that dreaded Olympics, it seems to have suffered him more than benefiting him, I do hope that he can get back his form though and maybe see him in the future develop a strong partnership with Reid like they had in the Championship at times. Time will tell, but I would like that to happen, it just means seeing him make the most of his potential. I can't complain though as this backline also happily kept Newcastle quiet at St James' Park, in a formidable display to keep consecutive clean sheets and a solid defence is always a good platform to build on, as you know if the opposing team can't score, then you can't be beaten.
Midfield wise, it seems this year we could potentially see Allardyce getting a few headaches. Good headaches that is, with the arrival of Downing, who is already looking to impress in Claret & Blue from what I've seen so far, it must be tough for Sam to see our best midfield. You can almost guarantee that Noble and Nolan will start, but Morrison could soon be pushing Diame for a starting spot, which I personally only see as a good thing, Diame is fantastic, but sometimes he does seem to try to do a little too much on the ball, when a simple pass could be the better option, also there were times last season where he seemed to run out of steam, so having Morrison pushing him could improve his all round performances and also give him a well earned break when he needs it, also the prospect of Morrison seems quite exciting. On the wings it is also tough who is the best two to have, Downing, Joe Cole and Jarvis. Jarvis and Downing are the more natural wide players, so you know they will get crosses in, but then Joe Cole has that little bit about him to create something out of nothing and pop up with the odd goal, so it could be a mixture, or maybe it could depend on who is starting up front, or who we are up against. You also still have Vaz Te, but I feel that possibly Sam and the West Ham faithful have run out of patience with him, I personally saw glimmers of hope in him last season, but not enough, I had hoped maybe with him knowing the potential arrivings, that he would have upped his performances in pre-season, but to me he still seems like the unpredictable player of last year, when you were never sure just whether he'd turn up or not.
Up front it feels we are still short. We only have Carroll and Maiga, while I have full faith in Andy when he is fit, as he does so much for the team, wins aerial battles, holds up play, creates and scores, he's the perfect striker mould for Allardyce's style. Maiga though, there are still a few questions, whilst against Newcastle, he seemed to do okay in the aerial battles, but he was offside when he managed to score and maybe could have had another chance, if he'd been a bit more determined to go for the ball after Downing's header across. I personally think Maiga is okay, but I know a lot who disagree, I feel given time playing in his natural position, he could show his worth as I do feel he can finish, but my only worry for him is that he is not comfortable as a target man in the Premier League, he might prefer balls to run onto and utilise his pace, or maybe balls to feet where he can try shaping up to shoot. It's a tough one, but I'm willing to give him a chance and see how he does. Whether the full West Ham faithful agree, will be a completely different story.
So overall, I feel defensively we look fantastic, which is great, not only for us Hammers, but I think Sam will be over the moon too as he likes a team that is hard to defeat and this year we could possibly be even harder, especially with the likes of Rat and Tomkins eager to come into play. Midfield I think we are good and have multiple options to mix our style of play too, again a very promising sign and hopefully it could create more diversity for Sam's team as I did feel last year that we struggled at times going forward due to lack of ideas, now with the players at his disposal, he can mix our play up without even changing formation. Up front, I'm still undecided, with Carroll fit I feel Maiga is a nice option to have coming off the bench when other teams are tired and we could utilise his pace, but while the big man is out, I'm not 100% sure yet, as I'm not sure he's f comfortable in that role, but Gold admitted last night that we are at our wage cap which means a player or 2 would have to go before another comes in. Personally I think Taylor and Vaz Te could definitely be leaving, both I wouldn't be too upset to see go either, Taylor is just getting on a bit and Vaz Te for me just isn't consistent enough, another couple that could go is Diarra, who had a massive bust up with Sam last season, so I wouldn't be surprised if he sees the lack of opportunities again this year and decides to go and possibly Collison, this one hurts me to admit as I love the guy, I think he's class, but he never really seems to have fully recovered from his injury so I'm not sure he would ever cement a first team place and whether we would need him with Morrison coming through. If 2 or 3 of these went then I think we could possibly see another striker come in, the only trouble is, they would have to be prepared to play second fiddle to Andy, which could make it tough to make a move seem appetising to a player. I just feel we need another target man type player and then we could see ourselves with one of the strongest squads we've had in a long time. I think there is reasons to be optimistic though, I would love to see us improve on our 10th place finish, although I'd be more impressed if we had a proper go in the cups this year too.
Looking at the squad we are building though, I think it is safe to say Sam will be around for a few more years, everyone knows by now I'm not his biggest fan but he is building a squad to suit his style of play and we do seem to be getting increasingly tough to beat, so I have to tip my hat to him and give him full credit for that, as in previous seasons we have probably been a bit too leaky in defence. What I would like to see though, is a bit more possession from our side in certain games, especially those we know we should beat. If we could manage that then I think we could be one of the hardest teams to come up against in the division, just because we would then have the options to go short and long even more than we already did, as we did see last season, there were moments when we played beautiful football, so I would like to see that encouraged a little more. Overall I think we have good reason to be optimistic about the year ahead and if we can continue to add quality to our side then who knows, maybe we could push up higher, but it will be tough with the teams who finished above us last year as they all have added quality to their sides too.
Monday, 26 August 2013
Thursday, 11 July 2013
The Upcoming Season Potential
At the time of writing West Ham have currently played 2 of their pre-season fixtures. One away to Cork City which the Hammers won comfortably 6-2 and another away to Boreham Wood which was won 3-0.
Now I know not to get too excited by these fixtures, as I'm pretty sure under a certain Avram Grant, we won every single friendly, prior to a season that I would much rather forget. None the less there have been some promising features. Mainly the inclusion of a fair few youth players, which is to be expected. Most notably for me though is the inclusion of Dan Potts and Jordan Spence in the full back positions, these 2 have been in and around the first team squad for quite a while now, so I wonder, could we possibly see these 2 feature a lot more regularly for us next season in the starting 11? I personally hope we do, as I think they've got a lot of potential and feel they will only improve with more experience, unless they go out on loan to a Championship club for a full season and we monitor their progress closely to see if they could become starting players. Another player is Ravel Morrison, West Ham fans have been calling for this young guy to be given a shot in the first team for ages and it appears after a successful loan at Birmingham City for the duration of last season, that he may well have a chance this year of breaking into the side and I fully hope he grabs this opportunity with both hands. He has managed to bag 2 goals in 2 in these friendly fixtures, so maybe he could begin to put some pressure on the midfield trio of Nolan, Diame and Noble, as well as those as back up such as Jack Collison. I personally think that if he continues to work hard and put in good performances when he gets the chance, there is no reason why he couldn't break into the first team, especially as there is no denying Nolan's age and maybe giving him a rest now and then could help improve us even further. Whatever happens, I hope we continue to see him feature in pre-season and maybe eventually see him break into the starting 11. If all of this carries on I feel it could be a very exciting time for West Ham with good experienced players and some decent young players putting pressure on those already in the first team, giving valuable competition for positions and making everyone perform to their best ability. We also mustn't forget that we've also seen Elliott Lee, Paul McCallum and George Moncur feature as well, all these players in my opinion are a bit too inexperienced to push into the first team yet, but hopefully they could all go out on loan this season, just as Morrison did and gain some valuable experience and come back to the squad stronger than ever, hungry for success and looking to get into our side.
Also today the new away kit has been shown available to pre-order now and you would receive this on the 25th July, please see below for pictures of the beautiful new away kit.
Now I know not to get too excited by these fixtures, as I'm pretty sure under a certain Avram Grant, we won every single friendly, prior to a season that I would much rather forget. None the less there have been some promising features. Mainly the inclusion of a fair few youth players, which is to be expected. Most notably for me though is the inclusion of Dan Potts and Jordan Spence in the full back positions, these 2 have been in and around the first team squad for quite a while now, so I wonder, could we possibly see these 2 feature a lot more regularly for us next season in the starting 11? I personally hope we do, as I think they've got a lot of potential and feel they will only improve with more experience, unless they go out on loan to a Championship club for a full season and we monitor their progress closely to see if they could become starting players. Another player is Ravel Morrison, West Ham fans have been calling for this young guy to be given a shot in the first team for ages and it appears after a successful loan at Birmingham City for the duration of last season, that he may well have a chance this year of breaking into the side and I fully hope he grabs this opportunity with both hands. He has managed to bag 2 goals in 2 in these friendly fixtures, so maybe he could begin to put some pressure on the midfield trio of Nolan, Diame and Noble, as well as those as back up such as Jack Collison. I personally think that if he continues to work hard and put in good performances when he gets the chance, there is no reason why he couldn't break into the first team, especially as there is no denying Nolan's age and maybe giving him a rest now and then could help improve us even further. Whatever happens, I hope we continue to see him feature in pre-season and maybe eventually see him break into the starting 11. If all of this carries on I feel it could be a very exciting time for West Ham with good experienced players and some decent young players putting pressure on those already in the first team, giving valuable competition for positions and making everyone perform to their best ability. We also mustn't forget that we've also seen Elliott Lee, Paul McCallum and George Moncur feature as well, all these players in my opinion are a bit too inexperienced to push into the first team yet, but hopefully they could all go out on loan this season, just as Morrison did and gain some valuable experience and come back to the squad stronger than ever, hungry for success and looking to get into our side.
Also today the new away kit has been shown available to pre-order now and you would receive this on the 25th July, please see below for pictures of the beautiful new away kit.
Enjoy these exclusive pictures and hopefully see you all wearing them soon!
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Pre-Season Begins
It is that time of year again, when all football fans begin to get excited about what the upcoming season could hold for them and their team.
At the time of writing this, we have captured a few signings. Adrian, Rat, Whitehead and Carroll, I personally don't know much at all about Rat but I do know he is a left back and I'm certain signing him is to help us just in case McCartney has a long spell on the sidelines again, although I would like to see young Dan Potts feature a bit more regularly, but Allardyce may believe he isn't quite ready for a full season in the starting line up, which I can completely understand why. Adrian is a goalkeeper, who did have a bit of a nightmare start last season, but he gradually improved and then became one of the more successful goalkeepers in La Liga so he must be lined up as a potential replacement for Jussi in the future, although I would fully believe Jussi will be our main goalkeeper this season still, this does make me think that Stephen Henderson will soon be on his way out of the side. Regarding Whitehead, I do not know anything of this player, but I understand he is one for the future. Then the biggest signing for us thus far being that man Andy Carroll, capturing him on a permanent deal is a fantastic move in my opinion, yes we may have had to pay quite a bit, but lets be honest, Liverpool weren't going to want to lose out too much on the £30+ million they signed him for from Newcastle, the reason I feel this deal is brilliant for us is because he suits the formation and tactics that Allardyce uses. He is a perfect lone striker who is guaranteed to win the majority of his aerial battles, he isn't afraid to chase the ball down, he can hold up the ball before slotting another player through and on top of that he can also score, I have a lot of faith Carroll will be very successful for us and is a good purchase.
On top of all of this we have seen youngster Rob Hall leave to go to Bolton, if the rumours are to be believed then he has left because he wanted first team football, so he rejected a new contract, I honestly think had he stayed he would have featured in and around the first team, but he would not yet have been a starter in a mid-table side, while at a team in the Championship, he could well be a regular starter for them, I am gutted to see him go, but there was nothing Allardyce could have seriously done to make him stay and can completely see why Hall would want to feature more regularly and play more, so good luck to him. Talking about our youth players, I am hoping Potts and Spence will be involved a little more in defence, as I feel they both have the potential to be our future full backs, maybe if for once we could have a nice cup run, they would be regular starters in that side. I wouldn't be surprised now if we begin to see Ravel Morrison, a lot of fans have been crying out to see him feature, but I do think he needed that loan spell at Birmingham where he could feature more and Allardyce could analyse how he plays and where he looks most dangerous, so I feel this season will be his start to first team football. We also have the likes of Elliot Lee, Blair Turgott and possibly George Moncur who I feel might get a few opportunities to impress but overall I would expect all 3 of these players to head out on loan again, possibly to the Championship, to see how well they do.
Then we get to the rumour mill. 3 players keep cropping up at the moment, Wilfred Bony, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku. I honestly am not sure about all of these players joining, Bony is because he's transfer fee looks set to be over £10 million which I feel could be a high risk for a player who is unproven in the Premier League. The other 2 players I feel could both be great, as they are proven in the Premier League, but there are certain factors which make me feel they wouldn't join, this is all to do with the way we line up, we use a lone striker, Lukaku isn't going to want to go on loan to a club where he will be a bench warmer and possibly get 15 - 20 minutes a game when Carroll is tired, he will want to be the main striker, especially in a world cup year where he will be vying to get himself into the Belgium side. Demba Ba is the only one who I feel is possible, but I can't see this happening either, as he will either be backup to Carroll or played out wide, we saw how he stopped scoring for Newcastle as soon as they signed Cisse and started playing Ba out wide, then at the start of last season they decided to swap Ba and Cisse around and Ba started scoring for fun again, then he moved to Chelsea where he probably feels he didn't feature as much as he should have.
At the moment I feel we could do with a couple more signings, I would like to see us get a right winger especially, I feel this is the position where we are weakest with Ricardo Vaz Te, just not being up to it in my opinion, last season he sometimes looked lazy, almost scared to take his player on and I just don't think that can help us in a season where we are looking to get higher than before and hope to maybe see us in 8th or 9th. We shall have to wait and see, but that is something I really hope to see us manage.
The side is currently out on a pre-season tour and based on the pictures the players look happy to be back and it would be nice to see us grab a few wins in pre-season and take that into the start of the season, also our new home kit has been launched and I must say it's a lot better than recent years, but I feel that is what happens when your kit manufacturer goes from Macron to Adidas, I must say I am eager to see how our new away kit will look too.
Come On You Irons
At the time of writing this, we have captured a few signings. Adrian, Rat, Whitehead and Carroll, I personally don't know much at all about Rat but I do know he is a left back and I'm certain signing him is to help us just in case McCartney has a long spell on the sidelines again, although I would like to see young Dan Potts feature a bit more regularly, but Allardyce may believe he isn't quite ready for a full season in the starting line up, which I can completely understand why. Adrian is a goalkeeper, who did have a bit of a nightmare start last season, but he gradually improved and then became one of the more successful goalkeepers in La Liga so he must be lined up as a potential replacement for Jussi in the future, although I would fully believe Jussi will be our main goalkeeper this season still, this does make me think that Stephen Henderson will soon be on his way out of the side. Regarding Whitehead, I do not know anything of this player, but I understand he is one for the future. Then the biggest signing for us thus far being that man Andy Carroll, capturing him on a permanent deal is a fantastic move in my opinion, yes we may have had to pay quite a bit, but lets be honest, Liverpool weren't going to want to lose out too much on the £30+ million they signed him for from Newcastle, the reason I feel this deal is brilliant for us is because he suits the formation and tactics that Allardyce uses. He is a perfect lone striker who is guaranteed to win the majority of his aerial battles, he isn't afraid to chase the ball down, he can hold up the ball before slotting another player through and on top of that he can also score, I have a lot of faith Carroll will be very successful for us and is a good purchase.
On top of all of this we have seen youngster Rob Hall leave to go to Bolton, if the rumours are to be believed then he has left because he wanted first team football, so he rejected a new contract, I honestly think had he stayed he would have featured in and around the first team, but he would not yet have been a starter in a mid-table side, while at a team in the Championship, he could well be a regular starter for them, I am gutted to see him go, but there was nothing Allardyce could have seriously done to make him stay and can completely see why Hall would want to feature more regularly and play more, so good luck to him. Talking about our youth players, I am hoping Potts and Spence will be involved a little more in defence, as I feel they both have the potential to be our future full backs, maybe if for once we could have a nice cup run, they would be regular starters in that side. I wouldn't be surprised now if we begin to see Ravel Morrison, a lot of fans have been crying out to see him feature, but I do think he needed that loan spell at Birmingham where he could feature more and Allardyce could analyse how he plays and where he looks most dangerous, so I feel this season will be his start to first team football. We also have the likes of Elliot Lee, Blair Turgott and possibly George Moncur who I feel might get a few opportunities to impress but overall I would expect all 3 of these players to head out on loan again, possibly to the Championship, to see how well they do.
Then we get to the rumour mill. 3 players keep cropping up at the moment, Wilfred Bony, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku. I honestly am not sure about all of these players joining, Bony is because he's transfer fee looks set to be over £10 million which I feel could be a high risk for a player who is unproven in the Premier League. The other 2 players I feel could both be great, as they are proven in the Premier League, but there are certain factors which make me feel they wouldn't join, this is all to do with the way we line up, we use a lone striker, Lukaku isn't going to want to go on loan to a club where he will be a bench warmer and possibly get 15 - 20 minutes a game when Carroll is tired, he will want to be the main striker, especially in a world cup year where he will be vying to get himself into the Belgium side. Demba Ba is the only one who I feel is possible, but I can't see this happening either, as he will either be backup to Carroll or played out wide, we saw how he stopped scoring for Newcastle as soon as they signed Cisse and started playing Ba out wide, then at the start of last season they decided to swap Ba and Cisse around and Ba started scoring for fun again, then he moved to Chelsea where he probably feels he didn't feature as much as he should have.
At the moment I feel we could do with a couple more signings, I would like to see us get a right winger especially, I feel this is the position where we are weakest with Ricardo Vaz Te, just not being up to it in my opinion, last season he sometimes looked lazy, almost scared to take his player on and I just don't think that can help us in a season where we are looking to get higher than before and hope to maybe see us in 8th or 9th. We shall have to wait and see, but that is something I really hope to see us manage.
The side is currently out on a pre-season tour and based on the pictures the players look happy to be back and it would be nice to see us grab a few wins in pre-season and take that into the start of the season, also our new home kit has been launched and I must say it's a lot better than recent years, but I feel that is what happens when your kit manufacturer goes from Macron to Adidas, I must say I am eager to see how our new away kit will look too.
Come On You Irons
Friday, 4 January 2013
The Season So Far...
Shocked to say, I'm finally doing another post. It has been a while but here goes.
At the time of writing we are just over halfway through the season, 20 games played, 11th in the table, 7 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses and a goal difference of 0. For a first season back, that is not a bad way of looking at it, especially when you see the other 2 promoted teams who finished above us are currently sitting in 17th and 19th respectively, I feel it is safe to say that Sam Allardyce and the team have done extremely well. The players we already had are doing well and those we have brought in to do a job have also been doing their part for the team. Personally my stand out player so far is Winston Reid, I just can't fault him right now, but I can go into that in more detail soon.
We have also seen the transfer window open once again and have already been fairly active in bringing in youngster Sean Maguire, Joe Cole and Marouanne Chamakh. My views on this are as positive as I can be, Sean Maguire is only young and is surely a purchase for the future, he plays up front and he had a successful trial with the club to join our development team and attempt to prove his ability to the manager. Joe Cole is a player all West Hams will remember, when he first broke onto the scene, for me personally he was one of the most exciting players I had ever seen, unfortunately his career didn't go as well as maybe some of us had hoped, although he did have lots of success at Chelsea, maybe we can get him back to how he was? Chamakh is one that I have seen a lot of split views on, but for me personally I think it could be a good loan move, he has the ability there, he proved this at Bordeaux and if memory serves me well, he started well for Arsenal until Robin Van Persie started doing so well and then limited Chamakh to limited appearance and the majority from the bench and since his career has stuttered, but he's another one who I feel Allardyce could get the best out of again. We also sound like we could still be looking for players if the rumours are to be believed so I'm sure the future will look good.
Now for the team in general, overall I'm extremely impressed, not only have we started brilliantly, but we like to mix up our play, short passes, long passes, pushing out wide and getting crosses in etc. We are lucky to have the players in our squad to be comfortable doing so. Below I'm going to give my view on some of the players I've seen and how I feel.
Jussi Jaaskaleinen - A very solid shot stopper and very communicative with the defence, even the attack at times, he seems more than capable in my opinion. At first I wasn't sure, but I feel he has proved me wrong and he looks like a solid purchase to replace Robert Green, I sometimes worry with his parrying, but I know nothing about Goalkeeping!
George McCartney - Unfortunately hasn't featured much this season due to injury, he hasn't looked bad when he has been fit but he hasn't set the league alight. Again solid, but if he is this injury prone, then we could do with an addition for this position, rather than having to play O'Brien on the side he doesn't favour.
Joey O'Brien - Was recently on the front page of one our home programmes, for being the unsung hero, for being very solid defensively. I find he gets a lot of unfounded abuse, which I feel is wrong as I have felt he has done very well, considering he has had to play left back a lot as well.
Guy Demel - I personally have been impressed by Demel most of the time, he's strong, good in the air and isn't afraid to get forward and put a cross in, not the most comfortable with tricky wingers running at him but again I feel he's done quite well.
James Collins - This man has probably had the most up and down season for us so far, fantastic in an aerial battle and good at throwing his body in the way of shots, but has also had his mistakes which you could say have cost us points at times. I think he's great when we're up against tough opponents like say Stoke, but maybe when up against a quicker side like Swansea or Arsenal then Tomkins should be favoured.
Winston Reid - For me, he is well on track for Hammer of the Year. His defensive ability has come so far since he first joined and I hope we keep him for many years to come. Strong, quick, comfortable on the ball and can pick out the odd pass. Just fantastic.
James Tomkins - We haven't seen as much as Tomkins as I would have personally liked and sometimes when he has featured, he hasn't been in what I see as his best position of centre back, but now and then in a holding midfield role or right back. Personally I've found he lacks the running for those two positions but in the centre of defence I've felt he's done well.
Jordan Spence - Hasn't started games, but has featured from the bench a few times, honestly think he could be a future right back for us if he continues to do well, maybe we will see him feature against Manchester United.
Mark Noble - Another player I've felt has done well overall, he's always running around and on his day he can boss a midfield, winning tackles and picking out good passes, now and then though he does misplace a pass or have a misplaced pass, but another who overall I've felt has done well.
Mohammed Diame - One of the best free transfers I've heard about, this guy has a lot going for him, he is good on the ball, can beat his man and can finish as shown versus Arsenal and Chelsea. I do think he does too much at times but he has been class.
Kevin Nolan - A fantastic start for our captain, scored a few goals and helped us get some valuable points on board, but recently he has seemed to have run out of steam a little, but having a game off last week through suspension, hopefully the time off will see him back to his best.
Matt Jarvis - Personally I've felt he's done very well. He's one of the few players in our squad who has the pace to knock the ball past a man and run past him, he also is always trying to get crosses in and I think in time he's going to come very good.
Matty Taylor - Solid overall, not quite got the pace for the wing like he once had, but he can definitely pass a ball and pick out a player, I'm happy with his contribution so far.
Gary O'Neil - Maybe not the best player, but determination wise I feel he always gives it his all, hassling opponents and not giving them time, but his passing can sometimes leave us questioning, but when performing well I like him, as he showed against West Brom.
Jack Collison - Has been out for the majority of season due to injury, but now he is back and I have to say he looks bright, another who is comfortable on the ball and looks ready to take on the man in front of him. Can't wait to see him show everyone what he can do and maybe be back to the Jack we saw before we were relegated.
Ricardo Vaz Te - Probably one of the few who haven't done as well as I'd hoped. The man who shot us back to the Premiership seems to not get the space and time that he had in the Championship, but maybe if he gets some confidence, he could well prove he is good enough for this league.
Carlton Cole - At the start of the season he had been on the bench mostly due to the arrival of Andy Carroll and I felt when he came on, he never really seemed up for it. Then Carroll picked up an injury and in his absence Carlton has come back in, this time he is looking hungry, winning aerial battles and bullying defenders, which, if he keeps up the form could keep Carroll out for longer than just his injury.
Andy Carroll - For me he has done very well, fair enough he hasn't scored many, but he is brilliant at winning and holding up the ball and helping to bring others into play, if he can find his goalscoring boots as well, then he could very well be one of the complete strikers, but first he needs to recover from injury.
Next up is Manchester United in the FA Cup, I have no expectations for this, it's almost impossible to call what sort of side they will bring, surely not wanting to risk their best, just to keep them in top spot and give themselves the upperhand against their bitter Manchester rivals. So the game could definitely be there for the taking. Let's wait and see. All I really hope for this season though, is that we keep up our strong return to the Premiership and solidify ourselves in this division. I personally feel Sam Allardyce deserves a new contract, even though I was one who didn't want him as manager, he has swayed me and I hope he stays, for a couple more years at least.
Come On You Irons!
At the time of writing we are just over halfway through the season, 20 games played, 11th in the table, 7 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses and a goal difference of 0. For a first season back, that is not a bad way of looking at it, especially when you see the other 2 promoted teams who finished above us are currently sitting in 17th and 19th respectively, I feel it is safe to say that Sam Allardyce and the team have done extremely well. The players we already had are doing well and those we have brought in to do a job have also been doing their part for the team. Personally my stand out player so far is Winston Reid, I just can't fault him right now, but I can go into that in more detail soon.
We have also seen the transfer window open once again and have already been fairly active in bringing in youngster Sean Maguire, Joe Cole and Marouanne Chamakh. My views on this are as positive as I can be, Sean Maguire is only young and is surely a purchase for the future, he plays up front and he had a successful trial with the club to join our development team and attempt to prove his ability to the manager. Joe Cole is a player all West Hams will remember, when he first broke onto the scene, for me personally he was one of the most exciting players I had ever seen, unfortunately his career didn't go as well as maybe some of us had hoped, although he did have lots of success at Chelsea, maybe we can get him back to how he was? Chamakh is one that I have seen a lot of split views on, but for me personally I think it could be a good loan move, he has the ability there, he proved this at Bordeaux and if memory serves me well, he started well for Arsenal until Robin Van Persie started doing so well and then limited Chamakh to limited appearance and the majority from the bench and since his career has stuttered, but he's another one who I feel Allardyce could get the best out of again. We also sound like we could still be looking for players if the rumours are to be believed so I'm sure the future will look good.
Now for the team in general, overall I'm extremely impressed, not only have we started brilliantly, but we like to mix up our play, short passes, long passes, pushing out wide and getting crosses in etc. We are lucky to have the players in our squad to be comfortable doing so. Below I'm going to give my view on some of the players I've seen and how I feel.
Jussi Jaaskaleinen - A very solid shot stopper and very communicative with the defence, even the attack at times, he seems more than capable in my opinion. At first I wasn't sure, but I feel he has proved me wrong and he looks like a solid purchase to replace Robert Green, I sometimes worry with his parrying, but I know nothing about Goalkeeping!
George McCartney - Unfortunately hasn't featured much this season due to injury, he hasn't looked bad when he has been fit but he hasn't set the league alight. Again solid, but if he is this injury prone, then we could do with an addition for this position, rather than having to play O'Brien on the side he doesn't favour.
Joey O'Brien - Was recently on the front page of one our home programmes, for being the unsung hero, for being very solid defensively. I find he gets a lot of unfounded abuse, which I feel is wrong as I have felt he has done very well, considering he has had to play left back a lot as well.
Guy Demel - I personally have been impressed by Demel most of the time, he's strong, good in the air and isn't afraid to get forward and put a cross in, not the most comfortable with tricky wingers running at him but again I feel he's done quite well.
James Collins - This man has probably had the most up and down season for us so far, fantastic in an aerial battle and good at throwing his body in the way of shots, but has also had his mistakes which you could say have cost us points at times. I think he's great when we're up against tough opponents like say Stoke, but maybe when up against a quicker side like Swansea or Arsenal then Tomkins should be favoured.
Winston Reid - For me, he is well on track for Hammer of the Year. His defensive ability has come so far since he first joined and I hope we keep him for many years to come. Strong, quick, comfortable on the ball and can pick out the odd pass. Just fantastic.
James Tomkins - We haven't seen as much as Tomkins as I would have personally liked and sometimes when he has featured, he hasn't been in what I see as his best position of centre back, but now and then in a holding midfield role or right back. Personally I've found he lacks the running for those two positions but in the centre of defence I've felt he's done well.
Jordan Spence - Hasn't started games, but has featured from the bench a few times, honestly think he could be a future right back for us if he continues to do well, maybe we will see him feature against Manchester United.
Mark Noble - Another player I've felt has done well overall, he's always running around and on his day he can boss a midfield, winning tackles and picking out good passes, now and then though he does misplace a pass or have a misplaced pass, but another who overall I've felt has done well.
Mohammed Diame - One of the best free transfers I've heard about, this guy has a lot going for him, he is good on the ball, can beat his man and can finish as shown versus Arsenal and Chelsea. I do think he does too much at times but he has been class.
Kevin Nolan - A fantastic start for our captain, scored a few goals and helped us get some valuable points on board, but recently he has seemed to have run out of steam a little, but having a game off last week through suspension, hopefully the time off will see him back to his best.
Matt Jarvis - Personally I've felt he's done very well. He's one of the few players in our squad who has the pace to knock the ball past a man and run past him, he also is always trying to get crosses in and I think in time he's going to come very good.
Matty Taylor - Solid overall, not quite got the pace for the wing like he once had, but he can definitely pass a ball and pick out a player, I'm happy with his contribution so far.
Gary O'Neil - Maybe not the best player, but determination wise I feel he always gives it his all, hassling opponents and not giving them time, but his passing can sometimes leave us questioning, but when performing well I like him, as he showed against West Brom.
Jack Collison - Has been out for the majority of season due to injury, but now he is back and I have to say he looks bright, another who is comfortable on the ball and looks ready to take on the man in front of him. Can't wait to see him show everyone what he can do and maybe be back to the Jack we saw before we were relegated.
Ricardo Vaz Te - Probably one of the few who haven't done as well as I'd hoped. The man who shot us back to the Premiership seems to not get the space and time that he had in the Championship, but maybe if he gets some confidence, he could well prove he is good enough for this league.
Carlton Cole - At the start of the season he had been on the bench mostly due to the arrival of Andy Carroll and I felt when he came on, he never really seemed up for it. Then Carroll picked up an injury and in his absence Carlton has come back in, this time he is looking hungry, winning aerial battles and bullying defenders, which, if he keeps up the form could keep Carroll out for longer than just his injury.
Andy Carroll - For me he has done very well, fair enough he hasn't scored many, but he is brilliant at winning and holding up the ball and helping to bring others into play, if he can find his goalscoring boots as well, then he could very well be one of the complete strikers, but first he needs to recover from injury.
Next up is Manchester United in the FA Cup, I have no expectations for this, it's almost impossible to call what sort of side they will bring, surely not wanting to risk their best, just to keep them in top spot and give themselves the upperhand against their bitter Manchester rivals. So the game could definitely be there for the taking. Let's wait and see. All I really hope for this season though, is that we keep up our strong return to the Premiership and solidify ourselves in this division. I personally feel Sam Allardyce deserves a new contract, even though I was one who didn't want him as manager, he has swayed me and I hope he stays, for a couple more years at least.
Come On You Irons!
Saturday, 18 August 2012
West Ham United V Aston Villa - Match Report
On the hottest day of the year it was time to kick-off the new season back in the Premier League. Upton Park was the venue for this battle of the two sides who don the claret and blue kits.
The match saw competitive starting debuts for new signings James Collins, Jussi Jaaskalainen, Mohammed Diame and George McCartney, although the latter of the four it probably felt like a normal start in the shirt having spent the previous season on loan.
As the game kicked off, few would be blamed if they felt it was going to be an evening of frustration. A lot of stray passes missing their targets and Aston Villa looking comfortable on the ball, it didn't start as many may have hoped. I can't blame the players, the opening fixture is normally a cagey affair and you just want to make sure you don't make yourselves foolish. Aston Villa had a very early strike at goal through Brett Holmann that Jussi watched stray past his right post. Following this strike their appeared to be about 5 minutes worth of fouls by each team, some seemed fairly light, but it may have been Mike Dean stamping his authority and letting the teams know they he wasn't letting players do anything silly. After that Villa had another shot go wide right of the goal.
After this short spell of dominance in the opening 10 minutes from Aston Villa, West Hams midfield started winning the ball more in the middle of the pitch and it soon appeared that they were growing into the game. Trying to spread the ball out wide and get some crosses and also winning a couple of free kicks in dangerous areas near the goal. It soon came from one of these free kicks that Ciaran Clark was booked for a foul on Mohammed Diame. Noble then sent the ball into the box from the far left with the free kick, the ball seemed to float over everyone apart from Wembley hero Ricardo Vaz Te who then put the ball back in for Nolan to tap home from close range and put West Ham 1-0 up. Something tells me Nolan's goal scoring ability could be a huge asset to our season. The game carried on much in the same way in the second half, with cheap fouls being conceded, Aston Villa looked happy to pass the ball around, but never really seemed to create anything and debutant Collins and Reid in the centre of defence dealt with any high balls by being commanding in the air. Half time came and it was so far so good, going into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The second half arrived and the sun was still shining. West Ham started the half brightly winning an early corner and from that corner winning a second instantly after, it felt as though the team may have started feeling confident. Still no threat from the Aston Villa attack, Collins proving what a buy he was as he kept Bent quiet and maybe made the Villa fans question why they sold him. Possession seemed to flip between each team in short spells, Diame looking very comfortable at fending off players when in possession and taking the odd player on to feed through to the attack as well made for a very promising future for the Senegalese.
At the 73 minute mark West Ham brought off their skipper and goal scorer Nolan for academy player Tomkins, both players met with a thunderous round of applause and an opportunity to see if Tomkins could manage in a midfield role like he had a few times in the Championship. It almost felt as though we were shutting up shop. Which probably made a few people nervy as nobody likes to see a team try to defend a 1-0 lead. This wasn't quite the case though as West Ham had their best opportunity to double the lead shortly after, a beautiful delivery from Matty Taylor was met by the head of Cole, who saw this header run agonisingly close but just wide of the post, it has to be said, the reaction of Collins face said it all, he couldn't believe it hadn't been a second.
On the 80th minute West Ham were then introduced to another new signing, Modibo Maiga was put on to replace Cole. It then felt like the quietest 10 minutes of the game as neither team really kept hold of the ball when pushing forward to produce anything. The fourth officials board was then put up to announce there would be 4 minutes of added time, much to the disbelief of the home support, as nobody could really tell where they had amounted 4 minutes from. Villa then tried route one to get themselves back level and salvage something from a game where they seemed to have not turned up. Once again Reid and Collins rose to the challenge, clearing their lines comfortably. 2 minutes into added time and we finally got to see what Maiga was made of, a long ball was lofted over for him and he had beaten the Aston Villa defence for pace to run through on goal, he then rounded the oncoming Given and struck a tame left footed shot at goal which was cleared off the line, so unfortunate for the man from Malia, as he looked to have done enough to cap his debut with a goal in front of the home crowd, unfortunately for him though, his touch past Given made it a tough tight angle and he couldn't get an easy shot on the goal.
Shortly after the full time whistle was blown. West Ham capped their return to the Premiership with a 1-0 home win and it was definitely deserved. Although the side didn't perform outstanding, they had definitely proved to Aston Villa that we weren't hear to be taken lightly. Our defence especially deserved fantastic credit for coping with everything that was thrown their way. James Collins marked his debut with a man of the match performance and I wouldn't be surprised if Diame was a close second and Reid just behind him.
West Ham
Jaaskalainen
Demel, Collins, Reid, McCartney (71)
Diame, Noble, Nolan (73)
Vaz Te, Cole (80), M.Taylor
Subs
Henderson, Tomkins (73), O'Brien (71), Diarra, O'Neil, Maynard, Maiga (80)
Aston Villa
Given
Baker, Vlaar, Clark, Lowton
Ireland, El Ahmadi, Delph (77)
N'Zogbia (74), Bent, Holman (61)
Subs
Guzan, Lichaj, Bannan (77), Herd, Gardner (74), Weimann (61), Burke
Referee
Mike Dean
Attendance
34, 172
The match saw competitive starting debuts for new signings James Collins, Jussi Jaaskalainen, Mohammed Diame and George McCartney, although the latter of the four it probably felt like a normal start in the shirt having spent the previous season on loan.
As the game kicked off, few would be blamed if they felt it was going to be an evening of frustration. A lot of stray passes missing their targets and Aston Villa looking comfortable on the ball, it didn't start as many may have hoped. I can't blame the players, the opening fixture is normally a cagey affair and you just want to make sure you don't make yourselves foolish. Aston Villa had a very early strike at goal through Brett Holmann that Jussi watched stray past his right post. Following this strike their appeared to be about 5 minutes worth of fouls by each team, some seemed fairly light, but it may have been Mike Dean stamping his authority and letting the teams know they he wasn't letting players do anything silly. After that Villa had another shot go wide right of the goal.
After this short spell of dominance in the opening 10 minutes from Aston Villa, West Hams midfield started winning the ball more in the middle of the pitch and it soon appeared that they were growing into the game. Trying to spread the ball out wide and get some crosses and also winning a couple of free kicks in dangerous areas near the goal. It soon came from one of these free kicks that Ciaran Clark was booked for a foul on Mohammed Diame. Noble then sent the ball into the box from the far left with the free kick, the ball seemed to float over everyone apart from Wembley hero Ricardo Vaz Te who then put the ball back in for Nolan to tap home from close range and put West Ham 1-0 up. Something tells me Nolan's goal scoring ability could be a huge asset to our season. The game carried on much in the same way in the second half, with cheap fouls being conceded, Aston Villa looked happy to pass the ball around, but never really seemed to create anything and debutant Collins and Reid in the centre of defence dealt with any high balls by being commanding in the air. Half time came and it was so far so good, going into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The second half arrived and the sun was still shining. West Ham started the half brightly winning an early corner and from that corner winning a second instantly after, it felt as though the team may have started feeling confident. Still no threat from the Aston Villa attack, Collins proving what a buy he was as he kept Bent quiet and maybe made the Villa fans question why they sold him. Possession seemed to flip between each team in short spells, Diame looking very comfortable at fending off players when in possession and taking the odd player on to feed through to the attack as well made for a very promising future for the Senegalese.
At the 73 minute mark West Ham brought off their skipper and goal scorer Nolan for academy player Tomkins, both players met with a thunderous round of applause and an opportunity to see if Tomkins could manage in a midfield role like he had a few times in the Championship. It almost felt as though we were shutting up shop. Which probably made a few people nervy as nobody likes to see a team try to defend a 1-0 lead. This wasn't quite the case though as West Ham had their best opportunity to double the lead shortly after, a beautiful delivery from Matty Taylor was met by the head of Cole, who saw this header run agonisingly close but just wide of the post, it has to be said, the reaction of Collins face said it all, he couldn't believe it hadn't been a second.
On the 80th minute West Ham were then introduced to another new signing, Modibo Maiga was put on to replace Cole. It then felt like the quietest 10 minutes of the game as neither team really kept hold of the ball when pushing forward to produce anything. The fourth officials board was then put up to announce there would be 4 minutes of added time, much to the disbelief of the home support, as nobody could really tell where they had amounted 4 minutes from. Villa then tried route one to get themselves back level and salvage something from a game where they seemed to have not turned up. Once again Reid and Collins rose to the challenge, clearing their lines comfortably. 2 minutes into added time and we finally got to see what Maiga was made of, a long ball was lofted over for him and he had beaten the Aston Villa defence for pace to run through on goal, he then rounded the oncoming Given and struck a tame left footed shot at goal which was cleared off the line, so unfortunate for the man from Malia, as he looked to have done enough to cap his debut with a goal in front of the home crowd, unfortunately for him though, his touch past Given made it a tough tight angle and he couldn't get an easy shot on the goal.
Shortly after the full time whistle was blown. West Ham capped their return to the Premiership with a 1-0 home win and it was definitely deserved. Although the side didn't perform outstanding, they had definitely proved to Aston Villa that we weren't hear to be taken lightly. Our defence especially deserved fantastic credit for coping with everything that was thrown their way. James Collins marked his debut with a man of the match performance and I wouldn't be surprised if Diame was a close second and Reid just behind him.
West Ham
Jaaskalainen
Demel, Collins, Reid, McCartney (71)
Diame, Noble, Nolan (73)
Vaz Te, Cole (80), M.Taylor
Subs
Henderson, Tomkins (73), O'Brien (71), Diarra, O'Neil, Maynard, Maiga (80)
Aston Villa
Given
Baker, Vlaar, Clark, Lowton
Ireland, El Ahmadi, Delph (77)
N'Zogbia (74), Bent, Holman (61)
Subs
Guzan, Lichaj, Bannan (77), Herd, Gardner (74), Weimann (61), Burke
Referee
Mike Dean
Attendance
34, 172
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Not Long To Go
With the new season drawing near, the thought has crossed my mind of just how ready we are.
I know pre-season is a very hard to judge moment, such as the fact we won every game under Avram Grant and then went onto watch one of the most painful league seasons that I can remember witnessing since I've been a West Ham fan. This season appears to have been rather the opposite, we have had a few games with struggled, the stand out game being the Ipswich match where we lost 3-1, but then last night we drew 1-1 with Braga and we kept trying for the full 90 minutes, even when we were a goal down. That sign of not giving up, despite it only being pre-season has to be one of the promising signs of our team. The age old saying of pre-season was always that it is about getting that match fitness back, the result not being important, I have to say overall this is the main thing, but having a win can do well for your confidence, but overall, it’s all about making the work you put in count come the start of the season.
Transfer wise I feel we have actually been very successful. Getting McCartney on a permanent basis is good as he has already settled in with the players, Jussi and Henderson are two good goalkeepers and I feel they will be good replacements for Green who left, Maiga coming in to help make this 451/433 formation flow much better as he is used to playing in this sort of formation will be a big asset I hope and could provide with a very tough front line of either Taylor, Vaz Te, Cole, Maynard or Maiga in there, we’ve also brought in Diame and Diarra who are both good holding midfielders and I’d say they will easily feature more that Diop last year and are possibly better than him, these two being good in the holding role will definitely give more freedom to the likes of Noble, Collison and Nolan who I would think may play just in front of Diame or Diarra, I also feel this will be perfect for Nolan, he chipped in last season with a lot of valuable goals and I feel this will only benefit him more as we won’t be exposed when he does charge into the box to help the strikers. I also would not be surprised if we’re still keeping an eye out for a couple of players, with rumours of us potentially signing Jarvis from Wolves, who would be like our own Matty Taylor but for the right hand side of the pitch, I feel we would be very well equipped for the new season, it would give us the options of 433 with say Vaz Te, Cole and Maiga or a 451 with for example Taylor, Cole and Jarvis, if being the main word regarding the Jarvis rumour, but I see a right midfielder as providing us with the perfect foil to mix our teams against those who we think could pressure us, or where we feel a decent delivery will put their teams into a panic. The only other position I could see us strengthening is right back, it’s hard to say just how good Demel is, as I felt he was never fully fit last season and the O’Brien seems to be a little hit and miss at times, but maybe Sam has faith in these 2.
Unfortunately this is all just speculation on my behalf but by 3pm next, we will all be watching in anticipation of what to expect, it’s great just to be back in Premiership, but if we can hold our own and then slowly build to push forward each season, then we can only look to the future and hope. Let’s show the big guns what they’ve been missing. Come On You Irons!
The Dilemma of Sam Baldock
Firstly I would like to credit Jason Hannen for part of my inspiration for this post after reading his comments regarding our very own Sam Baldock here. If you agree or disagree and want to talk to him with it then you can find him on Twitter as @JayHannen
Sam Baldock is really causing quite a stir before the season has even begun. He is a very strong fans favourite, this is probably for his non-stop running and eye for goal, he seems to have that never give up attitude that every fan would love, but then there comes the issue…
Last season he wasn’t given many chances, quite a lot to the frustration of the West Ham faithful, especially heard at the game away to Burnley when we were 2-0 down before half time. As the players, coaches and manager headed back to the tunnel you could hear a lot of the away fans chanting “We want Baldock”. In this game, they got their wishes and, it paid off, as we came back to draw 2-2. Even though he didn’t score, he looked like much more of a threat that game than most of our other strikers.
It is clear to most fans that Sam Baldock isn’t Sam Allardyce’s favourite, which is one that brings a lot of debate and to some even confusion. So here I am going to do my best to analyse what is causing this.
Baldock is a short, pacey, centre forward. He has an eye for goal, which is great but, he doesn’t have the strength or power like other players we have like Cole or Vaz Te. In a world where it appears the 4-4-2 system is dying very quickly, especially at the top level, it causes problems for Baldock, who seems to be a player who likes to feed off the other striker who can hold the ball up and thread a pass through for him to run onto.
He is your ideal little man in the big man and little man 4-4-2 but, with the formation not being used very often and, especially under Allardyce, we don’t see it much at all. That’s going to already be a slight struggle for Baldock. West Ham clearly use a 4-5-1/4-3-3 system under Allardyce, with the big centre forward holding the ball up to invite the wingers into play.
Vaz Te, for one, appeared to strive under this formation, playing out wide and running onto balls so he could cut inside and have a strike at goal, or run to the by line and try a cross. I don’t think Baldock has the ability to play in that wide position, he doesn’t seem like a wide man, even though his pace could work were he to run inside to shoot.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave, much to the frustration of a lot of fans, but it seems he is not Allardyce’s favourite and also if he wants to further his career, he will want to be much more than a bit part player. Nicky Maynard has already admitted he was willing to change his game style to suit the Allardyce way, maybe Baldock isn’t so willing, which is why his chances have been slim.
I personally hope he stays, I like the guy as a player and he appears like he wears the shirt with pride and wants to do well in the claret and blue. Also, he has been our best finisher in pre-season. I know a lot of people will say that pre-season means nothing apart from getting your fitness up, but I’m sure it would also fill a player with confidence if they are doing well.
Furthermore, having Baldock could mean we can mix up our formation, rather than sticking to the one system, while he could also be developed into a winger who can cut into play and strike a goal. He could become a very deadly opponent for others, but he would also need to work on tracking back, as this season will probably be one of the toughest for our sides and our defensive play will need to be at the strongest it has ever been.
Maybe the best move for Baldock would be to go on loan, build up his experience and fitness, then he can try to prove to Allardyce what he is missing and maybe, just maybe, Allardyce would admit he was wrong about him and give him a chance.
It’s tough to say…I personally think he needs to prove he can play in a different system to which he prefers and then take his chances as soon as they arrive.
What are your thoughts on him? Do you think he deserves a chance, or is he not good enough in your opinion? Leave a comment, or tweet me @conflictinbanno as I’m very interested to see the views of the fans.
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