Five Talking Points From Hammers Victory Over The Saints

1. It's all about the system: With so many injuries we had no right to boss this game away from home, yet such is the Pellegrini system that even without Arnie, The General, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Zabaleta, Wilshere, Chicharito et al we still played like a tight unit and shrugged off the setback of an illegal goal to win with something to spare at a ground we have won only one of our previous nine visits.

2. Declan Rice is the real deal: Looking through the green-tinted spectacles of a Paddy, Decky really looks like the player that Mick McCarthy can build an Irish side around. An amazing abilty to read the game, fabulous link up play and always there to tidy up when his team mates mess up....err 'Roy Keane' anybody? Sort out a long contract and lets enjoy having a lynchpin who dictates games with his football nous. We used to see Rice as a Rio in the making but he's shown this year that he has what it takes to boss midfield play at the highest level. Anyone else loving this?

3. Michail Antonio is too nice for his own good: It's pretty obvious that Michail does not think like a full back but he never shirks the responsibility when asked to play in a position he is unsuited to. Just when he seemed unplayable on the right wing SuperSlav asked him to fill in at right back and to his detriment he obliged. Pelle needs to avoid wrecking his buzz just when he is back to form and fitness. Stop this right back nonsense NOW! The January window requires a new right back as a major priority and let Antonio rampage further forward.

4. Anderson is the new Payet: Right to the end most true Hammers hoped that we might salvage the Payet mess mostly because we knew he was a real talent and worth the admission price on his own. There is a certain level of technique that most players can only dream of and Filipe has that. Yes, he loses posession a lot but his high risk manoevres open up opposition defences in an era where mass defending has stifled open attacking football. Filipe is that rare thing - the locksmith who can open the tightest defensive systems. As we push to higher levels we will need his Brazilian genius to compete. Aside from being a brilliant finish, his second goal kept Southampton's back four honest in the crucial final quarter....did anyone think we would concede a silly scrappy backs to the wall goal in the final few minutes tonite? Thought not. Thank Filipe's incisive counterattacking for that.

5. Ogbonna's West Ham career is far from over: Breaking up the excellent Diop-Balbuena partnership was a real worry tonight, but in reality Angelo fitted in delightfully and bailed out the usually excellent Issa Diop on more than one occasion with his situational nous. Did anyone ever imagine that Winston Reid would be under so much pressure to get back into the game squad when he returned? We all applaud Pellegrini for his attacking style but the centre back arrangements right now aren't too bad are they!

Pitbull would fit in well with the pack!

Right now West Ham feel like a club on the cusp of something great - having weathered a difficult (and defeat-laden) bedding in period under Manuel Pellegrini they have found their stride and have been marching up the table towards the top six.

That march was temporarily halted by Watford on Saturday but they will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways tonight against Southampton at St Mary's Stadium.

A big worry for Manuel Pellegrini is the extent to which injuries have taken their toll, with midfield the position that they are most stretched with Summer signings Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere both out injured. undoubtedly Mark Noble and Declan Rice have done a great job, with Robert Snodgrass making a massive contribution in a more central role, but a big physical presence in midfield will surely be top of the wish list in January.

Chilean veteran Gary Medel looks like he could be just the solution that the Hammers are looking for. Nicknamed 'The Pitbull', his aggressive style would add needed bite to the squad. Medel enjoyed a mixed experience a few years back at Cardiff where despite a string of good performances he couldn't prevent the club from being relegated and moved to Inter Milan where he made 109 appearances in three seasons before switching to Besiktas.

Medel is only 5ft 7 in height (and perhaps a comparison to a staffie might be more appropriate?) but such is his athleticism that he has also played as a centre back on multiple occasions!

With 114 caps to his credit, Medel is just the type of wise head that you want in the dogfight for European placings and no doubt that wealth of experience is something that young Declan Rice would surely benefit from in his journey towards being a potential future club captain.

The rumour mill has it that the Hammers have already made a £6million offer but Besiktas are so far holding out. However, the Turkish club are known to be financially stretched right now and may be forced to sell off their best assets, including Medel who at 31 years of age will hope to still have a year or two to contribute at the top level and may well want to make up for what was ultimately a disappointing time at Cardiff .

The arrival of a pitbull will surely start a series of dog comparisons amongst our squad. can you name the players that bear resemblance to these 4 breeds?

For the answers see below. Number 4 may be the hardest but think about recent International speculation and it should be a little easier!

As for today, Southampton are on the rise with a sequence of wins under new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, while West Ham may be without both Chicharito and Fabien Balbuena, both of whom had poor games against Watford. Angelo Ogbonna acted as a more than able deputy for the General and will be looking to start today. Up front, things are not quite so straightforward as Marko Arnautovic is unlikely to be rushed back from injury but should be ready for the Brighton game on the 2nd January. Similarly, Andy Carroll does not look quite ready for a starting berth.

The Hammers have only beaten Southampton at St Mary's once in their last nine visits and are 5/2 against for a win. Southampton are 6/5 with the draw a decent bet at 5/2.  It's likely to be a big day for Michail Antonio as he looks to impress at his former club. On form and back in the goals, it's a hard call to decide whether he is likely to leave or stay at the Olympic Stadium in January. Today presents a chance to convince Manuel Pellegrini that his physicality and direct style is enough to make up for his modest first touch on the ball.  
As for the quiz......
 
1. English Bull terrier = Squad #16




2. Afghan Hound = Squad #9

3. Border Collie = Squad #1

4. Irish Terrier = Squad #41


 

'Whingy' Warnock is Back: God help us!!!

Arghhhhh! Just when you thought that we had finally ditched Neil 'Warlock' Warnock back in the ghastly wilderness of the Chumpionship you find him back and ready to wage whinge-war on referees, match officials and the general vissitudes of playing football on the imperfect planet we call Earth. The pugnacious and forthright Yorkshireman has quite a bit of history with the Hammers, mainly through his leading of the whinerfest that followed the discovery of some minor administrative misunderstandings around the Tevezgate period when Mr Moany was boss at the tragic Blades of Sheffield.

After a series of failed stints at Palace and Leeds, Warnock succumbed to the pleas of Glamorous Rotherham and managed to steer them to safety from quite dire circumstances in the Championship. He was rewarded with being given the reins at Cardiff and in two seasons has performed impressively with limited resources and guided them into the Premiership.

Warnock is a passionate observer of the game but also noted for overstepping the mark on a regular basis. Whatever else, he is certainly a colourful character and an entertaining pundit. Warnock can be scathing about referees - a pattern that is all the more amusing given that he is himself a fully qualified referee but has never presided over a top level match. No doubt some of his refereeing victims would relish the opportunity to put bigmouth in the hot seat!

Having turned 70 this year, Warnock is only too aware of his inevitable demise and when asked if he would like a minutes silence to mark his passing when it occurs responded with typical Warnock wisdom: "“I don’t want silence. I want them all to be chanting ‘Warnock’s a w*nker’ over and over again. For a whole minute. That would be my ideal.”

Let's hope that the Hammers give Mr Whingy plenty to rant about tonight! Worryingly, Manuel Pellegrini has been forced to shuffle his back four due to a variety of knocks picked up in Saturday's 3-0 demolition of Newcastle. Michail Antonio is in at right back (Ouch!), while Nagelo Ogbonna is rewarded for his patience and replaces Fabien Balbuena at CB. Twinkle-toes Arthur Masuaku is at Left back, emphasising the need to play to outr strengths by taking the game to Cardiff right from the off.

COYI!!!.

Starting XI: Fabianski; Antonio, Ogbonna, Diop, Masuaku; Rice, Noble (c); Snodgrass, Anderson, Arnautovic; Hernandez

 

Subs: Adrian, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Obiang, Diangana, Perez, Carroll

 

Putting Diop's Shaky Start at Centre Back into Context

New West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has wasted no time ringing in the changes and in turn splashing plenty of cash to strengthen his squad. Having inherited the leakiest defence in the Premiership - one that conceded 68 goals in 38 games - it has been no surprise that he has looked to change defensive arrangements.

Bringing in French starlet Issa Diop was a particularly bold move, costing £22 million at the tender age of 21! However, having already risen to the role of club captain at Toulouse, Diop had established his leadership credentials.

That aside, Diop has featured in West Ham's Preseason friendlies against Wycombe Wanderers (where he had a solid 45 minutes) and Preston - where he looked off the pace of the game and was the shaky half of a partnership with Declan Rice.

However, its very early days. Reece Oxford's Premiership debut against Arsenal 3 years ago suggested we had unearthed the new Rio Ferdinand, but he has struggled ever since. Conversely, Winston Reid's debut gave little to suggest we had captured our solidest centre back of recent times as he had an underwhelming debut in 2010 in a 3-0 thumping by Villa and was part of a side that was relegated! Similarly, Angelo Ogbonna has been a decent performer since arriving from Juventus, but in his first game looked very nervy and even conceded a crucial own goal as we were spectacularly bounced out of the Europa League by Romanian minnows Astro Giurgui!

Early days then. All the same, he'll need to sharpen up by the time we travel to Anfield in a few week's time as Messrs Salah et al will be only too happy to demonstrate how the Premiership is a place of little sympathy for those hoping for time to catch their breath and get bedded in!

At the other end of the spectrum, Ryan Fredericks has settled in very quickly at right back and along with Andriy Yarmolenko looks set to bring real threat down the right wing next season!

COYI!!!

David Gold Gives Update on Andy Carroll's Groin

Hammers head honcho David Gold has taken to twitter to reassure fans that Big Andy Carroll simply has a bit of a stiffy and his substitution after demolishing Middlesboro yesterday was merely a precaution.

Let's hope that the Chairman is correct but Hammers fans will know only too well that Andy's history is of what initially appear to be minor knocks dragging on into prolonged absences.

With the Hammers now in the top half of the table but well adrift of the European spots, it looks like they can relax a little and maybe pencil this season down as one of consolidation. The problems offloading poor Summer transfers highlight the need to be cautious during the January window where most of what's on offer comes with a health warning.

The Deal for Scott Hogan looks stalled for now and with Jonathan Calleri belatedly discovering some goalscoring form maybe the Hammers will decide to hold back on the cash until the Summer. However, with over a million extra prize money for each Premiership placing each victory from here in has aconsiderable financial worth and would cover much of the cost of new recruits.

Meanwhile, the capture of Jose Fonte makes much better sense with news that Angelo Ogbonna needs major knee surgery and will be absent for the rest of the season.

Let's hope Big Andy makes it to the Summer without any further injuries.

 

More Transfer Weirdness From West Ham

 Jose Fonte - a decent centre back who has good leadership skills. Moreover, he is a proven winner with Portugal in the 2016 Euros. However, at 33 years 'young' you'd really have to wonder what on earth West Ham are doing! The reported transfer fee of £8 million seems exorbitant - especially when you consider that West Ham let the talented and versatile (and considerably younger) James Tomkins go for £10 million in the Summer!

The big question is where Fonte will fit into Bilic's side? The Irrepressible Winston Reid would seem a starting fixture which raises questions about the confidence SuperSlav has in Angelo Ogbonna. Moreover, the move will hardly Cheer the two Reece's who surely must be worth more game time as we seem to be heading for a mid-table consolidation year?

The contract runs until 2019 by which time Fonte will be 35. It's a strange one and in all honesty, just now is a move from Southampton to West Ham really much of an upgrade? Perhaps SuperSlav will argue that strengthening the defence and adding leadership to the side will tilt our fortunes for a big push forwards?

A look at Fonte's stats on Squawka further confuses the matter. He has an overall rating of 261, with 9 defensive actions per game and a 47% success rate in challenges. At 28 years of age, Angelo Ogbonna is in his prime and has a rating of 300 with 8 defensive actions per game and a 59% success rate in duels. Is Fonte here to just provide cover? That would be quite a come down for the Southampton captain!

Weird, just weird!

Hammer Time for Saggy Baggies

It's back to the grind today for Slaven Bilic's troops who will be looking to bounce back from last week's embarrassing implosion against Watford where they were rampant for the first 30 minutes before squandering a two-goal lead.

Perhaps the biggest question is how Bilic will try to turn things around. There have been calls for wholesale changes to the starting XI as fans look to kick start the stuttering season that sees the previously buoyant Irons lurking on the edge of the bottom three after four games.

Bilic has been applauded for his ability to manage his players expectations and even though Adrian had a howler against Watford, one suspects that SuperSlav will avoid the temptation to over-react and will persist with the usually excellent netminder.

In contrast, the Collins vs Ogbonna conundrum raises a variety of issues. Collins was a major culprit for the first two Watford goals and may well be benched to allow for the return of Angelo Ogbonna who has been strangely overlooked since returning from Euro 2016.

However, Ogbonna engaged in some foolishly ambiguous social media activity after the Watford game that may have annoyed Bilic who demands discipline and loyalty from his players. On balance, it seems likely that Bilic will feel obliged to make at least one change to his leaky back four and with Alvaro Arbeloa (probably) still short of match fitness, Ogbonna seems the obvious choice.

Elsewhere, West Ham will be hoping to emerge with a similar silkiness in attack that graced the first half hour last weekend. Having Lanzini and Payet together again is a big boost creatively, while Michail Antonio is simply on fire and will relish the chance to add to his haul of four goals in as many games this season. Newby Simone Zaza impressed in spurts last weekend and will hopefully have found his Premiership gear for today.

If Bilic wants to shake it up he can bolster the defensive side of the midfield with Havard Nordtveit, while up front Sofiane Feghouli is ready to return and many fans are predicting that he can form a brilliant partnership with Mr Payet.  These options seem more likely to be used from the bench according to how the game sits after an hour or so.

Meanwhile. the Baggies are not in a good place right now with manager Tony Pulis unpopular with many fans. Having amassed four points to date, they haven't won at the Hawthorns for almost six months and will hope that West Ham's visit might provide suitable fodder for a much needed victory. Soloman Rondon will be vying for a starting place with Saido Berahino. The Baggies will be hoping to exploit West Ham's disorganisation out wide with recent arrivals Nasser Chadli and Matt Philips served with trying to open up the Hammers defence.

West Ham will need to be patient as Pulis sides rarely panic in response to crowd tension and even as the home side will be only too happy to absorb some pressure if it creates space for counterattack.

Probable West Ham Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Adrian; Byram, Reid, Ogbonna, Masuaku,  Kouyate, Noble, Antonio, Lanzini, Payet, Zaza.

Oh No! IT'S TRUE, he's really leaving after all...

That should silence that creepy Icelandic chant thing...

The major discussion point of last weekend was, for once, not whether Dimitri Payet will leave West Ham after the Euros, but rather, that academy graduate James Tomkins might be off to Crystal Palace. This time last year such a move would have been laughably unlikely, but wind on a year that has seen the arrival of the impressive Angelo Ogbonna coupled with the further development of the Reece's, and suddenly Tonks departure is not so crazy an idea. 

The level of debate has been intense, with those in favour citing that Tomkins' distribution when coming out of defence is not sleek enough for Bilic's set up. Conversely, many others (VWH included) still regard Tonks as our best centre back after Winston Reid. Undoubtedly, his versatility as a makeshift right back is an asset but seems to have gone against him under Bilic.

 However, with James Collins well into his thirties, one would think that three experienced centre backs are a mandatory requirement in these days of soft suspensions and high speed injuries. Campaigns in the two seasons prior to Slaven's arrival were both derailed by our lack of adequate cover at centre back that left a gaping hole in our defence that was only partially plugged by the arrival of Roger 'the relegator' Johnson. Can anyone erase the painful trauma of the back to back 6-goal concessions to Man City and Nottingham's Florist?

Initially the rumours sounded as daft as those that suggested he was heading to rejoin Big Slam at Slumberland, but his visible omission from the US trip raised eyebrows and now there are reports this morning that he is on his way for a medical after the agreement of a £12 million deal. For those that see us as a family club that emphasises blending incoming stars with our home grown talent, this has to be seen as a disappointing moment. For those avaricious types who view £12 million as good money, the purpose of the OS move is to end our history of selling off our best talent. In that regard, Tonks has been the best graduate from our academy since Noble before him.

Meanwhile, on the Payet front, despite a relatively quiet night by his standards last night, he demonstrated his two-footedness with a stunning strike with his lesser (?) left foot in a 5-2 mauling of Iceland. The latest display will only serve to further energise the interests of Europe's top clubs and as Tomkins departure highlights, at the right price we are still as selling club!