Perfect Start to New Life at OS for Hammers but how did they rate individually?

Life at the Olympic Stadium began with an emphatic win as West Ham dominated Slovenian rivals NK Domzale, overturning the 2-1 deficit from the first leg to run out 3-0 victors. The reward will be a tie versus Romanian side Astra Giurgiu who defeated the Hammers in last year's Europa exit. One senses that Slaven Bilic will be looking to avenge that defeat with a strong side when the tems meet on the 18th (a) and 25th (h) of August.

But how did our heroes perform individually?

Darren Randolph: Dazza is a top quality keeper and we are lucky to have him as back up to Adrian. A quiet night but he was called into action in the second half as Domzale tried to get back into the tie. His concentration was good and he made the one excellent save that was needed. Good distribution from the back as well. 8/10.

Sam Byram: Sam played really well despite being on his less favoured flank. He also contributed to the attacking efforts of the team with plenty of overlapping runs. One foolish mistimed challenge in the second half reminded us that he isn't the finished product just yet but is certainly progressing well. 8/10.

Michail Antonio: A better organised defence last night meant that his lack of defensive positional sense was not exposed as in the first leg. One mistimed tackle reminded us that he is naturally an attacker. Michail was unphased by the difficulties of the previous match and just got on with it, pushing forward regularly without any fear. He seemed to connect well with Reece Oxford as the right-sided CB as well. Still wasted though at RB! 8/10.

Winston Reid: Cool and committed, Winston is our best defender by an amount. He linked in brilliantly with young Oxford while also supporting Byram out wide. Top class player. 9/10.

Reece Oxford: He really does look like the new Rio! Calm, intelligent and fearless - should he start against Chelsea? We think yes!!! Made some excellent tackles when needed and looked entirely unphased by events. 10/10.

Havard Nordtveit: Looked much more comfortable as the defensive midfielder than he did at CB last week. A decent physical presence he looks well suited for the Premiership. No nonsense tackling and unfussy but distribution. he'll be pleased with his contribution. 8/10.

Mark Noble: Captain Claret fluffed his first few touches at his new home but naturally kicked into gear and kept the intensity of our game at a high level throughout with his high octane contributions. 8/10.

Cheik Kouyate: Looked a bit off form last week but was back to his best with his energetic running and, of course, two decent goals. Kouyate likes playing anywhere in midfield and last night emphasized his ability to be the more forward element of the midfield. All smiles, as always! 10/10.

Enner Valencia: Made the first goal and looked lively throughout. However, he missed a few decent opportunities and in fairness it seems that things have just never quite kicked on for him at West Ham. Maybe its time for a switch? 7/10.

Sofiane Feghouli: You sense that we have picked up another diamond here. Lively, nice touch and an eye for goal as emphasised by his finish for the third goal. We simply cannot wait to see him alongside Payet and Lanzini. 9/10.

Andy Carroll: No goals but he put in a very decent shift. Andy looks like he has gained a yard or two in pace as well! We were once again reminded just how big his contribution to the team effort is with his targeted physicality. Ten goals a season along with the chaos (and space) he creates is enough. 8/10.





 

Jewel of Hope!

Slaven Bilic's 'boys' are putting in the performance of men so far in Romania tonight! Having been given the tall task of winning away after conceding a two goal lead at home, the kids got off to the perfect start with a strike from their new signing Manuel Lanzini - nicknamed 'the jewel'. Lanzini has been the brightest player for the Hammers so far with a goal and a number of decent deliveries from set pieces.

Astra looked stunned but managed to restore parity on the 33rd minute and then forged ahead moments later as Romanian international Constantin Budescu notched a quickfire brace. Kevin Nolan went close from a 38th minute free kick with a header from the six yard line that flashed wide.

Up front, Elliott Lee looks lively and 'grandad' Kevin Nolan is putting in a decent shift both in terms of ground covered as well as motivating the young troops. It's hot and humid in Southern Romania, so hopefully the more youthful Hammers side will recover the ascendency as the game progresses. Maybe if they can get it back to 2-2 and force extra time then they will feel the benefit of youth. In the interim, the defence needs to close down Astra more quickly!

The bench is entirely comprised of inexperienced development squad players, so options in terms of known gamechangers are limited. The good news is that Lanzini doesn't look like he's done just yet!

COYI!!!

Bilic Should Stay At Home and Let Yoda Take Europa Charge

'To win at Astra, Patient we must be, young padawan' 

Back in May, qualification for the Europa League seemed like an ideal pre-season warm up. However, after a chaotic July, once again we face the first week of the Premiership with a serious absence of fit strikers. Moreover, in a congested fixture list, we must make a perilous trip to Southern Romania in the Europa League on Thursday night immediately followed by a Premiership opener at the Emirates two days later. Having picked up suspensions and injuries along the way, the squad is already looking threadbare and Bilic is going to have to be very astute in juggling the available resources if we are to avoid two embarrassing defeats next week.

 

News from yesterday's Romanian League fixtures indicates that FC Astra rested their first team ahead of the big clash with the Hammers. Last Thursday's tie demonstrated that Astra should not be underestimated. Although their goals were unusual, there can be no denying that they dominated  once they had the numerical advantage.

Slaven Bilic has indicated that he will be prioritising the Arsenal match, which means that our kids will be put to the test out in Giurgli. Many observers bemoaned the lack of opportunity for younger talent during the Allardyce reign, and perhaps Thursday's game should be viewed in positive terms as a valuable opportunity to get real experience in games where there are high stakes. However, two ugly words come to mind......Notts and Forest.

Let's hope the kids can hold their own and maybe with some carefully chosen senior players in the team they can snatch an unlikely win. Time for Jenkinson, Jarvis and Kevin Nolan to step up? However, the curmudgeons amongst us might suggest that Bilic is misguided in prioritising the Arsenal match. Given that we have such an awful record against the Gooners over the past decade, having lost nine on the trot in the fixture, maybe we should go for it against Astra and take the inevitable defeat at the Emirates?

One interesting issue is whether Bilic himself should travel. Having been red carded last week, he will have to sit in the stands and maybe might be better sit the whole trip out. One thing that we have learned about the Croatian is that he is single minded and will do whatever he believes is likely to bring results. Maybe Terry Westley can take the helm again - the 3-0 victory over Lusitans was a  decent win and maybe we can return to that form with his help.

However, how about the exciting alternative, why not let Julian Dicks lead the team into battle? As the reports of crowd disturbances during the first leg suggest, the atmosphere out in Romania will be far from welcoming. The many fans who engage with Jules' on twitter will know that in his middle age the Terminator has developed Yoda-like wisdom and would be a capable deputy for Bilic. It seems inevitable that Dicks will become first team manager at some point in the future.

Today's match against Werder Bremen presents an opportunity to give both the Europa League and Premiership sides a run. Maybe we should start with Thursdays starting XI and switch to the Arsenal side for the second half? Our predicted sides for the two fixtures are below. If the Arsenal side is our best starting XI (apart from Jenkinson who is not eligible), it demonstrates that we still need to bring in Alex Song, a striker of the pedigree of Charlie Austin, and some wide midfielders. Letting Downing leave is looking really foolish right now.

Either way, let’s hope we don’t pick up any injuries today! Next week’s games will certainly not be lacking in excitement – we’ve certainly travelled a long way since the soul-less wind down of last season’s campaign.

 

 

 

Bilic Faces Selection Headache for Astra Clash

As West ham prepare for the first leg in their third round Europa League qualifier on Thursday, chairman David Gold has given an assurance on twitter that the Hammers will field their strongest side.

However, due to a combination of injuries and suspensions this still makes for a patched up team. Their opponents, Romanian side FC Astra have looked solid to date with their away performance against Inverness Caley Thistle serving as ample warning that they will be no pushovers as they not only emerged 1-0 winners, but also dominated play for long periods.

One area of contention in the Hammers line up will be at centre back where Winston Reid is doubtful and James Tomkins banned. James Collins is having an unconvincing preseason while newbie Victor Ogbonna has looked a bit uncertain in his new surroundings.

In midfield, we can expect Noble and Kouyate in the holding roles, with Diego Poyet available as a replacement should either struggle.
Matt Jarvis has looked sharpish so far and may retain the left-sided position with Dimitri Payet behind the striker. The right-sided midfield and striker positions look most uncertain and will test Bilic's creativity. Any of Valencia, Amalfitano, Lanzini, Zarate and even misfit Modi Maiga might be slotted in? as there are no obvious frontrunners for either role. The Hammers will be looking to build a decent cushion in order to avoid the histrionics of the last round where they scraped through on penalties against Maltese minnows FC Birkirarara!

We predict the following 4-2-3-1 starting line up:

                          Adrian

O'Brien  Ogbonna  Collins   Cresswell

                 Kouyate   Noble

Amalfitano                             Jarvis

                          Payet

                        Valencia


COYI!!!

Super Caley Optimistic But Astra Are Precocious!

Ok, its not as good as the original Celtic bashing Jockball headline, but given that West Ham (or Birkirkara) will meet the victors of Inverness Caledonian Thistle vs Romanian Superclub Astra FC in the third round of the Europa League, we cud nae resist Morag!

The Romanians managed a 1-0 away win on Thursday and are clearly now the favourites. However, the highlanders will give it their best and a trip up North would be more fun than a jaunt across Europe to the Romanian-Bulgar border.

Err...not that Satanic really

Add to that the terrifying nugget that the Romanians are nicknamed the Black Devils and its no surprise that most Hammers would turn a blind eye to the kilts and gladly embrace a trip up Ben Nevis.

Oi...isnt that the new Daggers kit?

Slaven Bilic's troops will need to watch out for the prolific Tichie Foran who has returned after 18 months of injury hell and could be the spark that reignites their European dreams!