Dicks is our Eurosaver!

 

The unthinkable almost came to pass this evening as an out of sorts West Ham were forced to go to penalties after losing 1-0 on the night to Maltese side Birkirkara! Luckily, one of Slaven Bilic's Summer recruits made all the difference as the Hammers were forced to look deep into their soul for a result.

As extra time progressed, the Maltese side (who are sponsored by McDonalds) looked happy to let it go to penalties but obviously hadn't done their homework properly. With West Ham's (and probably the Premiership's) greatest ever penalty taker as first team coach, the Hammers calmly slotted all five of their penalties whilst the Maltese skyed their third penalty over the bar.

All's well that ends well? No - Slaven Bilic will have much to ponder ahead of the third round where West Ham will meet Romanian side Astra who saw off Inverness Caley Thistle earlier today. Few of the starting eleven did themselves any favours, with the early substitution of Kevin Nolan especially telling in terms of where Sam's captain sits in Bilic's plans. Poor Modi Maiga had another dreadful outing, and even when he appeared to finally do something right by slotting home an apparent winner just before the end, it was ruled offside in what looked like a very tight decision. Mauro Zarate again looked like he was trying too hard and persistently held on to the ball for too long. Amalfitano was equally ineffective before being withdrawn early.

It has been noted that Besiktas' title challenge under Bilic last year was derailed by their poor disciplinary record - they picked up TEN red cards during the campaign!!! Bizarrely, the Hammers have picked up two already this season. That's one thing that has definitely changed since the Allardyce regime where, for all the tough physical football, the Hammers qualified for the Europa league via the fair play system.

In truth, tonight's side consisted mostly of Sam's troops who looked unsure of how to impose a non-Allardycian style on the game. We can thank our lucky stars that we crept through tonight as there will be opportunities to improve upon this side with the likes of Payet, Ogbonna, Obiang and Lanzini. We clearly still lack firepower up front and need to capture a striker or even two if we can offload the likes of Maiga and Nolan. Charlie Austin remains an ideal candidate to fill that void.

Early days. Early days...another night of European excitement beckons next week. thank God we have time to get our house in order before we face the Gooners and some heavyweight Premiership opposition.

Manboobs Spare Hammer's Blushes

Thursday nights encounter with Maltese outfit left Hammers fans frustrated but ultimately relieved as we managed to snatch a late winner and some Premier League pride.

Thanks to James Tomkins 'header' the Irons will take a slender one goal lead to Birkirkara for the second leg. However, the goal was not technically truly a 'header' as it seemed to come off Tomkins torso region.

In these times of endless stats datailing the precise source of attacking successes, fans are understandably keen to clear up whether the goal should register as an aerial success or might be better attributed as a lower limb effort.

While some observers have put the goal down to James well shaped Pecs, thus claiming the first ever manboob strike, others have suggested that Tomka may have notched up a 'middle  leg' success citing that the principal goal bound force behind the effort was 'mid central' rather than left or right footed. Either way, this is the kind of creative attacking play that the Hammers need to overcome their offensive difficulties.

Moreover, Tomka's efforts again emphasize how he has responded positively to the challenge for places in the Hammers defence by turning out a classy clean sheet plus goalscoring performance.

There's nothing like pressure for places to bring out the best in the squad. Top footie young man!

SAKH-OH!!! Important lessons learned from Europa League encounter

One of the selling points of the Europa league for West ham was the opportunity it provides for younger players to get game time and different experiences of the beautiful game. To that end, the tie with Andorran side FC Lusitans certainly delivered and even better, highlighted some important issues for our new manager.  

Thr first game provided the chance for a host of youngsters to get their first starts and also for some senior players who were injured towards the end of last season to make an early start to their preseason. The game was euro-niggley and the kids quickly discovered the need to move the ball quickly in order to get purchase against a heavily manned defence. 

The second leg was also a learning curve as star striker Diafra Sakho discovered with his dismissal in the fourteenth minute for contributing to an off the ball tussle after, as the dislikeable Lusitanian manager described it, being 'provoked' by one of his players. The incident turned the game and provided our kids with a chance to play off the back foot and get some under-the-kosh game time. 

For manager Slaven Bilic the incident will provide a chance to address disciplinary issues with his squad. Undoubtedly, the failure of his previous club Besiktas to seize the Turkish Premier League title last season was related to their incredible tally of ten red cards during the campaign! Clearly this is an area that will need to be policed carefully during the coming season during which the Hammers will need their squad to be fully available as much as possible.

A two match ban is likely to apply such that Diafra won't travel to Malta (and wont therefore get the chance to visit the island's premier tourist attraction at the Popeye Village!). Interestingly, the Hammers opponents during the next round Birkirkara also had a man sent off during their first round tie.

The Maltese will undoubtedly contribute more than Lusitans in terms of actual football. Ultimately, for all the managerial hot air the Andorrans managed their first shot on goal in the tie late into the second half of the second leg! With the skillful Fabrizio Miccoli as offensive playmaker the Maltese outfit will provide a much sterner test.  

Either way, job done and a few lessons learned. Perhaps most importantly, Sakho's absence highlights the need to bring another striker into the ranks.