It's Make or Break Time for this Hammer

Andre Ayew has had mixed fortunes since joining West Ham for a then record-breaking £20 million from Swansea last year. His initial time at the club was spent on the injured list after a nasty thigh injury on his debut, but upon returning in October he has huffed and puffed - scoring 6 goals in 25 Premiership outings.

With the arrival of Marko Arnautovic, along with the imminent return of Michail Antonio, Ayew is under pressure to hold on to a starting berth out wide, while the much predicted arrival of William Carvalho will limit opportunities in a more central role. In short, today would be an ideal moment to find his Swansea form!

Ayew has a scoring record just short of a goal every third game whilst playing in the top flight since 1010. At 27 years of age he is entering what should be the pinnacle of his career and has put down that first bedding in year with the Hammers. His time is now...

COYI!!!

 

Coddled-together Hammers travel in hope rather than expectation

Yeuchhhh!

For the unacquainted, Coddle is an Irish (Dublin) dish made up from leftover bacon and sausages that are cooked below boiling point with potatoes and onions. Said to be Dean Swift’s favourite dish, in reality most people find it disgusting!

Because it is made from leftovers it has no specific recipe – and thus gives rise to the term ‘coddled together’ rather like the West Ham team for today’s visit to Ye Olde Trafforde where Slaven Bilic wilkl be without Cheik Kouyate, Manuel Lanzini, Michail Antonio and, of course Andy Sicknote and Diafra Sakho.

Quoted at 11-1 against, it’s hard to see how the Hammers can pull of a win today against a Man United side that is widely tipped to challenge for the title and includes the terrifying prolific (against West Ham anyway!) Romelu Lukaku.

If Man United have a weakness, it is Jose Mourinho’s tendency to play it conservatively against sides who should be there for the taking – hence the difficulty his side had with having so many draws last season.

West Ham will be hoping that they can keep it tight at the back with what is, on paper, an impressive back five. Otherwise, Chicharito will be hoping to mark his return with a goal that, even if he doesn’t celebrate it, West Ham fans certainly will do justice to! However, we expect Bilic to go with a 4-5-1 which would require that Hernandez plays as the lone striker which is his less effective role.

Given the absentees, the main talking points in terms of selection will be around left back (we think Masuaku will get the nod over Cresswell) and centre back (Ogbonna over Fonte/Collins). Will Toni Martinez get a run out for the last 20 minutes? We hope so as he looks ready to make the transition to the first team and we still desperately need striking options.

We refuse to predict a defeat but would gladly take a point at this stage. Bilic tends to spring surprises on opening days, so fingers crossed! At the very least we will get a look at our cool new away kit.

Hammers look to emulate Spurs!?!

The West Ham third kit has apparently been leaked from an Asian source and reveals how the club are again taking a conservative approach to kit management this season. The home kit is almost unchanged from last season, while the Black away kit looks snazzy in a Thames Ironworks kinda way.

The third kit looks like a white polo shirt with Betway printed on it. It seems unlikely to be a fans favourite over time as it is so bland it almost brings Spurs to mind. Yeuch!

Whatever happened to the Bobby Moore sky blue with double claret hooped design for our away kit???...surely the greatest kit of all time?..Anyone interested in starting a petition to have our greatest ever kit reintroduced?

 

Chance would be a fine thing...

As the media have gotten themselves all wrapped up in whether Javier Hernandez AKA 'Chicaharito' will celebrate if he scores at Old Trafford on Sunday, they all seem to be missing the point that West Ham with their injury-ravaged squad are unlikely to have the need to ponder such issues as they are likely facing a disappointing start to the season!

With Reid, Antonio, Kouyate and Lanzini all doubtful and the usual suspects stuck in sick bay (Andy Carroll / Diafra Sakho), it will take a truly remarkable performance to beat the odds at Old Trafford.

Punters can get 12-1 against a Hammers win, with a Man United victory quoted at 1/4 by Paddy Poormaker!

You'd take a draw really, I guess, but even that's also considered unlikely at 9/2 against.

Two images that will please all West Ham fans

He's Back-ho! Diafra is training again with the first team. Fingers crossed, he's endured a torrid time with injuries. This is his make or break season.

Meanwhile, Winston Reid is preparing to return after his recent shin operation and word is that West Ham have NO interest in selling him to Everton or indeed anyone else!
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Toffees Grab Winstone Read

The current speculation regarding the future of West ham's Kiwi defensive sensation Winston 'Wonderful' Reid has understandably angered many Hammers fans who feel that having made the most exciting collection of signings to date in the Premiership that the media should look elsewhere when creating speculative transfer news. Maybe try Spurs, for example, where the North London side have contributed nothing to the transfer circus apart from letting one of their best players go to rivals Man City.


The rumour is that Ronald Koeman wants a West Ham centre back - initially, it was speculated that James Collins might make the move - albeit with no apparent foundation and very much flying against Collins' own recent comments about his future: "I’d love to finish my career here....It’s been a major part of my life – I met my wife here, so my family are from the area, and I’m a very lucky boy to have been at such a good club for so long. And hopefully it can continue"

Read more at https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/july/16-july/collins-i-want-end-my-career-west-ham#fWpgoUpMlSpVrBq2.99

As such, tabloid interest has now switched to focus upon Winston Reid.

Just exactly why Reid would want to leave London for Liverpool, or switch from a club where he has been the lynchpin around which our continued rise has been driven, makes no sense. With Everton having lost their best player while West Ham have patiently assembled a top class squad, it seems that West Ham rather than Everton are the better bet for a top six invasion next season. Hammers fans will be calmed by the clue as to the veracity of the story highlighted by the suggested fee of £9million. Ahaaaaahaaaaa. Dream on Toffees! Reid is contracted to 2021 and has a £20 million buyout clause - both for good reason!

As the Lukaku-less Toffees try to regroup, perhaps their efforts can indeed be encouraged by a Winstone Read - but they are more likely to get a read of Ray Winstone's compelling biography than a slice of our Kiwi maestro.   

Meanwhile, Winston Reid is preparing himself for the season when his sustained efforts of recent years are rewarded with some silverware!

COYI!!!


 

Hammers Finally Get Dhliwayo!

It really seems like only yesterday when David Gold and Sullivan took over the helm at a sorry West Ham. Trapped by debt, with a demoralised squad and soon to be relegated, we were on the verge of joining the list of big clubs that experienced the horror of freefall - Leeds, Wolves, Forest, Villa, the Sheffields etc.

Wind forward from 2010 to the present and West Ham are the fastest growing club in Europe with a burgeoning fanbase, 20,000 waiting list for season tickets at the most economically efficient stadium in Britain, and are now ranked 15th richest club on the planet.  

Missing from that list of achievements is 'with a squad to match their new found wealth'. However, as a current Sky News poll indicates, the Hammers are now tackling the issue of having a first team squad to compare with other clubs amongst the World elite. With the top ranked astute signing (Javier Hernandez) and three in the top 20 signings of the Summer so far (Hart (7th), Arnautovic (16th), with Zabaleta strangely excluded!), things are looking up. 

In searching for a suitable phrase (we preferred to avoid 'smarter than a shithouse rat') VERYWESTHAM went searching for quotes and encountered the impressive Matshona Dhliwayo's treasure trove of sayings. Dhliwayo has written books such as '100 Lessons Every Great Man Wants you to Know'  and '50 Lessons Every Wise Mother Teaches Her Son'...We reckon he should extend to include '20 rules for running a football club'....check these out:

 

 “A tree is naked, no matter how big, if it does not have leaves.”  

With the OS and a top class manager, we have the structures - now we are adding the players!

  

 “Talk less. Do more. Fear less. Achieve more.”

Err, I guess the board have read this one and had a quieter but more effective transfer campaign this Summer!

 

“The early bird gets the first worm, but the wisest bird gets the fattest one.” 

With Chicaharito ranked as the best signing of the Summer, we look to have followed this wisdom! 

 

“One bright star is better than a thousand dull moons.” 

No more taking a punt on unproven talent, all four of our signings to date are proven Premiership quality.  

"Keep your friends close, keep your money closer"

For all the disappointments of last season's transfers, the unsuccessful players were mostly on loan deals while Fernandes and Masuaku stand out as decent acquisitions and we are likely to recoup the Feghouli fee.

 

“The pen is mightier than the sword; it should never run out of ink.”

Great work so far but we could still do with another striker and a midfielder with oodles of pace! If you want to play a front two and Lanzini behind them in midfield, our defensive midfielder really needs to be mobile.

 

“Whether your glass is half full or half empty, hope can fill it up.”

Good try Mr Dhliwayo, but 'Forever Blowing Bubbles' captures this philosophy much better!

 

“Don’t strive to be superior to others; strive to be better than you were yesterday.”

Errr...but what about Spurs - it's hard not to smirk at their lack of activity to date - losing Walker to Man City and no arrivals :-)

 

“We all come into the world rocks, but the enlightened leave it diamonds.”

Bloody hell, our kids are suddenly shining again - hats off to Rice, Holland, Martinez, Burke and Cullen. We simply must give them more opportunities in the first team squad rather than sending them out to endure the unsophisticated brutality of the lower leagues - League Two doesn't make diamonds, just tougher rocks!

But as a final thought, let's not let Mr Dhliwayo hog the thoughtfest - with a truly exciting season to look forward to maybe Carl R White captures our sentiments best just now:

“Belief is a wonderful way to pass the time until the facts come in.”