Errrr... Pelle Selection Surprises Bode Badly For Crunch Game

Manuel Pellegrini has gambled with his team selection for Today's trip to Selhurst Park, bringing Roberto back in goal despite a series of horror performances a few weeks back! With David Martin out injured, that was perhaps an enforced call, but Hammers fans will be equally concerned at Zabaleta's selection in a position that will see him square up with the pace of Zaha! Otherwise, it's a brave selection with (probably) Antonio and Haller up front, while for once the Hammers have game changers on the bench with the returning Anderson and Lanzini ready to join the action if needed. 

All in all, Rory Nostradamus is thinking that a draw would be a good result!

West Ham: Roberto, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Snodgrass, Rice, Noble (c), Fornals, Antonio, Haller.

Subs: Anang, Diop, Masuaku, Sanchez, Lanzini, Anderson, Ajeti

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.” 

 

Remember the last time it felt this right?

After a quiet start to the Summer suddenly things are looking very interesting at West ham. With Pablo Zabaleta string to sort out the right back problem and Joe Hart to add presence between the sticks, the defence looks solid, and now the arrivals of Marco Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez look imminent, suddenly we've got a decent looking team!

So mush so that Jose Mourinho is tipping us as a good outside bet to challenge for the Premiership! Wow!

However, one suspects all Hammers fans have that inner naysayer who is whispering into our ears a terrifying loop that includes " ...2006 / Magnusson / Ljungberg-Dyer-Bellamy...".

That said, it's a mouth watering prospect to think of putting out a starting XI that could include Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Kouyate, Obiang, Lanzini, Antonio, Arnautovic, Hernandez.

Maybe the special one has got a point!