Another Hammers Striker Slips Through the Net

Maguire nets again in front of a sell out crowd in Ireland

One of the lingering gripes amongst Hammers fans about the Allardyce era was the reluctance to give youth an airing. Allardyce apologists may well point to the infamous FA Cup thumping up at Notts Forest, but in reality there were very few chances for upcoming talent under Big Sam.

Sean Maguire was brought to the club in 2013 after a prolific season as a striker for Waterford United in the League of Ireland first division. After two years in the development squad, during which he went on loans to Sligo Rovers and Accrington Stanley, 21 year old Maguire was let go in 2015 after a sum total on zero appearances for the first team.

Now he's back in the spotlight. After a stint with Dundalk - last year's winners of the Airtricity Premier League, he is now banging in the goals for high flying Cork City. with an impressive 16 goals in 23 games so far this season, Maguire is now 22 and starting to reach his potential. So much so that a host of clubs in Europe are monitoring his situation, including Sint Truidense and Genk.

Which brings us back to the Hammers. Despite all the talk about the Reece's and Josh Cullen, they have not contributed so far to this season's endeavours and must be getting itchy. Cullen is enjoying first team football at Bradford where he has been compared to Zinedine Zidane, while the Reece's occasionally make the bench even though our defence has been seriously underperforming.

It's hard to feel that we have found the right balance between youth and experience, but if anything we appear to be still much too cautious.

Good luck to Sean Maguire. Once a hammer, always a Hammer!

 

 

Hammers Rising Star Described as "Zidanesque"

After a decade where relatively few young players made the transition from the academy to the full team, suddenly West Ham have more rising talents than the squad can handle! As last week's clash with Juventus demonstrated, Slaven Bilic has a host of younger players hovering on the margins of the first team and is working hard to find ways to facilitate their continuing development.

Twenty year old central midfielder Josh Cullen is one such talent. Having won the Dylan Tombides Award for academy player of the season in 2013-14, he notched up three appearances in last year's Europa League campaign before making his Premiership debut in last season's 3-0 thrashing of Liverpool at Anfield.

Since then opportunities have been hard to find in Slaven Bilic's set up and he enjoyed a highly successful 4 months loan period at Bradford last season playing in 15 games. His good form continues and he did not look out of place against a star-studded Juventus last weekend. With competition for first team places so intense at West ham right now, he has returned on a five month loan to Bradford.

Cullen made his second debut for the Bantams yesterday and was singled out for particular praise for his "outstanding" performance throughout. The official Bradford City report went on to highlight a moment in the second half when Cullen produced "a Zidane-esque spin which was even applauded by the home crowd; it summed up a real eye catching display in central midfield".

Happy days for young Cullen but where to next for him and the growing band of emerging talents at West Ham - Oxford, Burke, Page, Samuelsen, Fletcher, Quina....and the list goes on! Superslav will certainly have his work cut out to keep everybody happy but it's worth recalling that his promise to put more emphasis on developing younger talent (than his ultra conservative predecessor) was one of the key attributes cited in Bilic becoming West Ham manager. The experience of Slaven and his backroom team with the Croatian U21 team should equip him to manage all these riches.

However, for Cullen the option of game time in the Europa League and Cup competitions has been put aside in favour of League Two experience with Stuart McCall's Bradford City. At 20 he still has plenty of time to get back into the West Ham set up and also will be hoping to graduate from the Republic of Ireland U21 side to the full squad as Martin O'Neill looks to build for the next World Cup campaign.

Keep it up young man!

 

Hammers find Full back solution for Europa League Clash

Time to put the toys away lads!

West Ham's preseason has been far from impressive with a series of embarrassing results out stateside followed by a thumping from Rubin Kazan. Things got even worse during a disastrous win over German second tier side Karlsruher CS in which defensive star Aaron Cresswell sustained a serious knee injury. As it stands, West Ham keep thumping on about a 50M striker, have bought two wide attacking players (Tore, Feghouli) but have no experienced full backs. Having conceded a whopping ten goals in five preseason fixtures, the Hammers need to tighten up their defence!

It will be fascinating to see how Bilic handles the full back crisis against Slovenian side NK Domzale tomorrow night. Despite Cressy's injury, Stephen Hendrie remains on loan at Blackburn which reflects poorly upon his progress to date, while Lewis Page, who has just turned 20, will be hoping to build on his experiences in last season's Europa League. Meanwhile, Sam Byram has been looking excellent in preseason and will hopefully prevent a return to the folly of playing Michail Antonio out of position at right back.

In midfield, it looks like it's game over for Diego Poyet who is not in the Europa League squad for the trip to Slovenia. With Obiang, Nordtveit, Cullen, etc all queuing up for berths it may be time for Diego to move elsewhere. Its a pity as its hard to see what he has done wrong when he's had the (rare) opportunity to shine. As for Josh Cullen, many are predicting that this season will see him push further up the ranks and into the first team proper. Tomorrow night should provide a platform for him to shine.

On the up side of things, Andy Carroll's latest injury scare seems behind him and he looks ready to get stuck into early season action alongside the impressive young Ashley Fletcher. words is that the pair took time out to share some quality time fishing whilst in Austria on preseason. I guess you could say that they are well perched to take their plaice at the top table.

Kick off is at 19:45 and its live on BT Sports....Here we go again!!!
 

Bilic's Man-Management Coming Under Scrutiny

The rise and rise of Hammers 19 year old Norwegian sensation Martin Samuelsen continued this week with his debut appearance for the full Norwegian side. Samuelsen came on as a second half substitute provoking the free kick that resulted in a winning goal for Norway as the game ended 3-2. Although Norway wont be competing at the Euros, they have a series of friendlies this Summer that can provide further opportunities for Samuelsen to shine.

Samuelsen has enjoyed an impressive first season at West Ham. After the action of the Europa League, he spent most of the season at Peterborough where he notched 20 appearances scoring two goals in the process. One of these came against our old mates at Sheffield United and understandably drew comparisons with a certain Mr Lionel Messi...take a look below!

Samuelsen also got to notch a trophy as he returned from the Posh to appear for the Hammers U21 side as they seized the Premiership title last month. Right now things look mighty positive but how will he fit into manager Slaven Bilic's plans next season and how will West Ham accommodate the growing needs of their other rising stars such as Reece Oxford, Reece Burke and Josh Cullen?

With a talented squad already at his disposal and instructions to bring in some players who can immediately slot into our first team, Bilic has an embarrassment of riches. Oxford managed 12 appearances last term, but if the rumour mill is anything to go by, may be tempted elsewhere in search of more first team action. Burke and Cullen enjoyed successful loan spells at Bradford City.

All of which points towards the merits of taking the Europa League more seriously this year. These starlets need more experience while a glance around the rest of the team also raises cries for more first team action - Darren Randolph can only be kept on the sidelines for so long, the fact that James Tomkins couldn't get a CB berth highlights the quality in defence.

In midfield, where Cullen and Samuelsen will be hoping to contribute, there is already has a host of top performers both creatively (Payet, Lanzini, Antonio) as well as in the engine room (Noble, Kouyate and Obiang).

Samuelsen is tall (almost 6'3") pacey and has quick feet. He can play either centrally or out wide. This versatility will undoubtedly be an important asset as he tries to force his way into the first team.

He can also play a bit of guitar...maybe that will further endear him to our rock star manager!

Exciting times ahead. Let's hope we can keep all these talented players on board and happy!

 

Hail Glorious St Patrick: The Irish Hammers XI

Happy St Paddy's Day all you Hammers folk! On the day we get to drink green Guinness and celebrate all things Irish let's consider how a the greatest Irish Hammers XI might look.

Goalkeeper: Adrian is a top, top keeper, but as a replacement Darren Randolph is superb! He has been excellent whenever the opportunity has arisen this season and been a key part of our FA cup charge, conceding only two goals to date. Already 'Randy' has usurped the likes of Gerry Peyton, Roy Carroll, Stephen Henderson and, dare I mention him....... Allen McNightmare!

The defence was…frankly, worrying! Unbalanced and not endowed with aerial presence. There would undoubtedly be much sweating at set pieces.

As full backs Joey 'the Lips' O'Brien and Georgie 'Linda' McCartney are well-solid, but Centre back is a real patch up and forced us to bring Georgie more centrally alongside Gary Breen, with Noel Cantwell taking the left back spot.

Just to remind you that Stuttgart wasn't the first!

Midfield is by far our strongest zone. Steve Lomas as enforcer and water carrier and a nice partner for Chippy Brady. Although Brady is primarily a Gooner, we got two very decent seasons out of him that included some cracking moments, and a delightful strike against the Gooners!.

Wee Michael Hughes was a great seizure from Wimbledon - gamey, if lacking in physicality, and with a useful habit of scoring at key moments. Both Frank O’Farrell and Tommy Moroney were key contributors in the early fifties but Tommy Moroney gets the final nod, mostly based upon his presence on the glorious Ireland team that was the first foreign team to beat the old enemy on their own turf at Goodison Park in 1949.

The rise and rise of Josh Cullen gives cause for hope that the 2017 March 17th update will see him seize a midfield spot but with Noble, Kouyate, Payet, Lanzini, Obiang, Song et al on the books first teal opportunities are rare for the talented youngster.

Up front, David Kelly underachieved – too light for top-level English football. David Connolly was too, well, David Connolly (i.e. perfectly average). Jimmy Quinn was a decent contributor in the late 80s while Robbie Keane came and went in the blink of an eye, with most of that time spent on the injury room table, but on the basis of what might have been he gets the nod, just!

And finally, Iain Dowie – a true Hammer who was not prolific by any means but always gave 100% and created opportunity for those around him. A real servant who had two determined spells at the club and is one of the more refreshing TV pundits about. Loyalty – a rare thing amongst our footballing folk these times.

So, a team that would by no means be worldbeaters, but we might expect plenty of effort and any team with Liam Brady could always find a moment of magic, while Michael Hughes would be sure to spoil a few Man United celebrations and Robbie could always find cause for a party!
 

Hammer's Ace Stars in Indie Rock Revival!

Although some fans continue to express their disappointment at Roy Hodgson's determined exclusion of West Ham players from the England set up, many others point to the Dean Ashton story as evidence that international involvement is fraught with potential disaster

However, there can be no doubting the value of international experience to Hammers back up keeper Darren Randolph. 'Randy' followed up his assist for Shane Long's strike in the Republic of Ireland's victory over Germany with another assist for Robbie Brady as the Irish claimed a valuable 1-1 scoreline in the first leg of their Euro championships play off tie in Bosnia on Friday.

The second half was played out in remarkable scenes where a blanket of thick fog led one wiseass to comment that he hadnt seen so much smoke since Echo & the Bunnymen played Dublin's SFX in 1983!

Brady's goal means that if Randy can keep up his excellent form between the sticks and prevent Edin Dzeko et al from beaching the Irish goal then the Irish will provide a double North and South act at next year's finals.

With Josh Cullen's star on the rise and rise, maybe the Hammer's ace can add some much needed creativity to the Irish midfield.

For now, let's hope Randy can keep a clean sheet tomorrow night.

Did someone say Joy Division?

Hammers Starlet Preparing to Step Up to the Big Time

Hot on the back of Darren Randolph's performance in goal during Ireland's midweek demolition of World Champions Germany, young Josh Cullen starred for the U21 side in a 3-0 thumping of Lithuania last night.

Cullen put in a commanding performance in midfield that won him the man of the match award. Having recently broken into the first team at Upton Park making a series of Europa League appearances before his Premiership debut in the 3-0 victory over Liverpool, its clear that his star is on the rise.

All of which is great news for club and country. With only modest creative resources available to him, gaffer Martin O'Neill will be watching with interest. Although Ireland missed out on Aston Villa's Jack Grealish, Cullen offers an equally exciting prospect and although Southend born, has no hesitation in recognising his Leitrim roots.

He may be an outside bet for the upcoming Euro Championships, especially if he continues on his current trajectory!

And finally, perhaps the most significant signing of all for West Ham today...

Amidst all the transfer madness today one event that slipped somewhat under the radar was the signing of exciting midfield prospect Josh Cullen on a deal running until 2018. While there has been mush talk about the two Reece's, Josh has been quiety pushing up the ranks and after some decent Europa League appearances he was rewarded with his debut as a substitute towards the end of the Liverpool triumph last Saturday.

Josh has been captaining the U21s for some time and is a regular in the Irish U21 set up. It looks like this season will provide a chance to push to a new level. As a skillful and tenacious central midfielder he will surely learn heaps from his senior colleagues in the squad.

Josh with the VWH crew during preseason

Onwards and upwards...a future Hammers and Republic of Ireland captain in the making?

Hammers Starlets in Class Footie Expose!

The latest trend amongst football fans worldwide is simply rampant at present, including at the West Ham camp as a sensational shot released today reveals!

Some intrepid Hammers fan managed to sneak into the too secret pre-Europa league training camp and capture both Elliott Lee and Josh Cullen with a stunning example of a footie!

Connossieurs worldwide are already calling this the ultimate 'footie' based upon the perfect positioning of the shoe in terms of the subjects of the shot along with the subtle juxtapositioning of the green lacing with the background scenery - simply awesome work!!!

The season has hardly begun and already the Hammers are pushing for top awards....well done lads, let's hope Mr Bilic rewards you both with some Europa league action on Thursday!

Gosh Josh! Hammers Irish Star Strikes to Stun Chelsea

With the likelihood of West ham facing the additional burden of Europa League football 'next' season (i.e. in 6 weeks time!), there will be huge pressure on the squad. As such, there is likely to be lots of opportunity for top level game time for our emerging stars.

The famed West Ham academy has been less productive over recent years but increasingly it looks like that trend is about to change. The emergence of Reece Burke as a first team player, with England U19 captain Reece Oxford close behind him with an increasing presence on the matchday squad serve as evidence that we may have some serious talent coming through.

In addition, Republic of Ireland Under 19 star Josh Cullen has impressed as another who might make the transition to the grown ups and has also recently made it to the first team subs bench.

Hammers fans got a taste of his potential when he scored a screamer to seize a 1-0 victory in the last minute of Friday's development squad fixture against Chelsea at Stamford bridge.

Treat yourself to a look at a Hammers star of the near future!

GOSH!!! Wasn't that Exciting!

No, not the scrap at Upton Park, but the rugby. The action was simply spellbinding as France and England went toe to toe and Ireland watched on hoping the crazy French wouldn't be too... crazy. And so it was, the game went right to the final play as England came within a whisker of an unlikely result.



Oh Dear!

Back at Upton Park, the action was a little less compelling as a grim first half  was livened up most by the failure of Jermain Defoe to take a gilt edged opportunity to put one over on his former employers. Hammers fans sighed with relief followed by a hearty chuckle or two. If Sunderland go down one wonders whether he will wait for the following day to deliver his transfer request  or maybe get it over and done with on the team bus on the way home after the match?

The second half trundled along aimlessly until the 88th minute when Diafra Sakho pounced to slot home the only goal of the game. It was harsh on Sunderland and their new manager Dick Advocaat, but the Premiership is no playschool and as West Ham know only too well, you've gotta keep playing until that oversized chanteuse breaks into song.

Speaking of which, what has gone wrong with Alex? Another performance where he looked out of sorts. The rush to find £100K a week to keep him at the Boleyn next year has slowed considerably. Similarly, what's up with Stewie Downing?

42 points and, after a few fumbled efforts, we are finally safe. Surely its time to let some of the up and coming talent have a run out. Of these, only Diego Poyet was named amongst the subs today and didn't get on. We want and need to get a look at the Likes of Elliot Lee, Josh Cullen, Dan Potts and the two Reeces. Speaking of up and coming talent, on loan Sean Maguire scored for Accrington Stanley today adding to the Irish cheer! 

Next a break and then Leicester away. We have a relatively 'soft' run in but, as we will be facing relegation threatened sides, we might prepare for more dour encounters as our opponents will be desperate for results.

Would you prefer to be in the relegation mix or drifting in mid-table obscurity? Sometimes it's hard to tell!

Finally, congratulations to Ireland on winning back to back Six Nations Championships!