All not so quiet on the West Ham front?

Thankfully it appears that so far this Summer our chairman and his son have realised the need to keep transfer speculation to a minimum. It doesn't make for fun media, but perhaps we might see a better product than Calleri-Zaza-Tore that emerged after last Summers bragfest concluded with some late panic shopping bag filling.

As a consequence, the most pertinent news this week is that the first team squad return to training today! While the internationals get a few extra days (if they want them), most of our squad checked in to Rush Green this morning ready to start preparing for next week's Austrian trip. Speaking of which, it's a bit of a pity we seem to have opted for Germany/Austria as a preferred location for preseason work given that its not the most interesting region for the more addicted fans to enjoy a short break in and catch a few games.

In other news, West Ham fans have been identified by a Daily Star report as the worst for hooliganism in terms of matchday arrests aboard public transport, accounting for 10% of the total. Hopefully, the teething problems of last season have finally settled down - certainly, inside the stadium the atmosphere improved considerably towards the end of the season with the delicious victory over Spurs a galvanising moment. It's a pity that this is the only number 1 rating we picked up last year (how about fastest growing club?)

Its early days yet in the transfer market but clubs with real ambition often lay out their stalls with a major investment that sends out a message to other potential recruits. Messrs Sullivan and Gold can moan all they like about non-Premiership proven players not working out but the truth is that top players do tend to slot into the Premier League quickly. Now that we are in the top 15 richest clubs on the planet, with surely the most financially efficient stadium arrangements in the League, it's time to realise the dividend of moving on from Upton Park. For sure, it's great that we can be relatively confident that Reid-Kouyate-Lanzini-Antonio will not be poached by 'bigger' clubs but it'd also be nice to bring in some players of proven similar calibre.

One last thing - re the Feghouli situation; another season looks like a good call as at times he did look the real deal and was unlucky with injuries. It'd be a pity if the most abiding memory of him is to be the hilarious miss against Man City!
 

Ayew Edges Ahead in Hammers Annual Award

After the first day of voting Andre Ayew has pushed ahead in the 'Miss of the Year' competition at West Ham. Having managed to hit the post not once, but twice from a yard out against Liverpool the majority of fans (60%) have so far voted for his outrageous miss.

However, a substantial minority (40%) feel that Jonathan Calleri's botched rabona is a better miss! Considering that he had been so unproductive up front one might have thought that a more straightforward effort to claim a goal would have been warranted but...

Disappointingly, Sofiane Feghouli's remarkable scuff from 3 feet out against Man City has not attracted any great support and languishes well behind the twin leaders of Ayew and Calleri....

With another six days to go, its all up for grabs! Why not check out the action courtesy of youtube:

Your chance to vote for the Hammers MISS OF THE SEASON

Anyone feeling bored yet without a weekly fix of footie? After last season's stuttering campaign, many Hammers fans are left with a sense of being unfulfilled. Undoubtedly our chairmen will keep us in the news about possible signings, and who knows, might even actually splash some big cash, but otherwise there is little to savour from last season.

One area where the Hammers did excel was in respect of spectacular misses! With a misfiring attack that seemed woefully lacking in confidence, we managed to notch up some of the most amusing misses that we have ever managed! We have compiled a list of the top three for you to select your favourite and here they are!


Option A: Sofiane Feghouli (6th January, FA Cup versus Man City). The Hammers started well against Man City before conceding to a super goal. Despite this, we fought on and were still very much in the game when Michail Antonio's shot was spilled into the path of the on rushing Feghouli. Two yards out and with the goal gaping.....somehow he missed - slicing the ball back across goal!!! Bizarre. We ran out 0-5 losers but you'd have to wonder what if we had converted this simple chance?

Option B: Andre Ayew (14th May Vs Liverpool). Liverpool arrived needing points and although understrength we hoped to frustrate their efforts. The game was tightly balanced  until Coutinho opened up our defence for Mr Sturridge to put the reds ahead. However, undeterred we hit back and seemed destined to equalise from a delicious Lanzini corner where the ball fell to Andre Ayew just a metre from the goal line. Somehow the £20 million signing managed to hit the post - twice!!!

Option C; Jonathan Calleri (29th April Vs Stoke City). Calleri arrived with a big reputation but struggled with the pace of the Premiership and soon fell down the pecking order. Towards the end of the campaign injuries forced Slaven Bilic to give the young Argentinian a run of games to prove himself. He fluffed it, managing a single goal in 19 appearances. This miss - whereby he has a gaping goal and decides to showboat with an unnecessary rabona - is surely his most bizarre miss!

So which miss do you think wins the greatest miss of our season competition? 

 

Ref Watch: Consistency is the Key ...or is it?

Good old Mike Dean is having a pretty torrid time since his dreadful performance in the recent West Ham versus Man United game. Having incorrectly sent off Sofiane Feghouli the decision was rescinded and Dean is now relegated to Chumpionship duties.

But Dean is nothing if not consistent - consistently awful! In this weekend's big Yorkshire derby between Bradford City and Leeds United he managed to mess up yet again by awarding a penalty for a handball that clearly occurred outside the box!

Dean has been besieged by controversy for much of his career and was previously demoted in 2010 but bounced back. However, on his current trajectory he looks destined for the non-leagues pretty soon!

 

Chairman and Fans Favour Feghouli Stay

Sofiane Feghouli's return to the West Ham starting XI has been a rollercoaster with a harsh red card, a dreadful miss against Man City and then a crucial goal and wizard-like performance against Palace last weekend. It's clear that as he finds his feet he is increasingly meeting with the approval of the fans.

In an on-line poll conducted by VERYWESTHAM 67% of fans indicated that he should stay at the Olympic Stadium, with 3% suggesting that we should even clone him!

Feghouli's case was further strengthened when David Gold agreed with a fan who tweeted that he should stay and that we have not yet seen the best of him.

Feghouli looks set to benefit from the Payet debacle as he is the natural back up for set pieces and also has the lockpicking skillset that sets Mr Payet apart.

Middlesboro should provide another platform for the Algerian ace to push forward his case at the Hammers.

Feghouli To Stay As Fans Finally Warm to Algerian Ace

Sofiane Feghouli has had to stay strong during his time at West Ham. Having arrived on a free transfer in the Summer, much was expected of the Algerian winger but after a series of solid early season performances he was hit by injury.

Having battled back he suffered the injustice of Mike Dean's poor judgement against Manchester United before getting a late reprieve and making the starting XI for Man City. Feghouli looked lively and got into the perfect position to score a goal that would have pulled the Hammers back into the tie but alas scuffed the ball wide from just three yards!

However, Feghouli shrugged that set back off to open the scoring with a crucial game-changing strike against Crystal Palace. He continued in good form throughout and put in a series of decent crosses as he teamed up with Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll to torment the Palace defence. Having Sam Byram behind him certainly suited his style better.

And suddenly the rumours of a switch to Roma have quelled and Feghouli looks set to stay at the Olympic Stadium  as an important creative force for the post-Payet era!

The fans have voted with two-thirds expressing a preference in out poll for him to stay and now have even penned a song for him - sung to the air of Toni basil's 1980s hit 'Hey Mickey'.


An alternative is provided sung along to Carly Simon's 1970s hit - 'you're so vain' as:

"You're Sofiane,
You probably think this song is about you
Don't you, Don't you
Sofiane"
Just goes to show how it's not all gloom and doom without Mr P!



 

What should Bilic do with Feghouli?

West ham's Summer signings have been a huge disappointment so far this season. Apart from Edmilisen Fernandes, they have all underwhelmed. However, while Zaza, Tore and Calleri have totally flopped, the case of Sofiane Feghouli is much less clear.

Feghouli looked like a tasty signing in pre and early season as his first touch and passing impressed, along with his ability to deputise on free kicks and corners in Payet's absence. Many fans were quietly hopeful that he would form a powerful understanding and partnership with Mr P.

However, those plans were scuppered by injury and he is only now resuming the challenge. For one thing, his return to the starting XI as a right winger has allowed Antonio to move more centrally and added a more balanced shape to our side, albeit with only a modest contribution in support of our beleaguered right back!

But more misfortune - a harsh red card against Man United, followed by a bizarre open goal miss against Man City have posed to possibly dent his confidence. Interestingly though, Feghouli kept fighting and getting forward after the awful miss and looked relatively undeterred.

With Roma trying to prise him away from the London Stadium in a deal that would see the Hammers recoup their £10million outlay, the big question is whether we have really seen enough to decide whether the Algerian truly is Premiership quality.

The jury is out for now and the games against Palace and Boro look set to swing Bilic's mind either way.

What do you think? WHY NOT LET US KNOW IN OUR FANS POLL?

Hammers Get AFCON Reprive

The AFCON poses a major problem for many Premiership clubs as they find themselves without their African stars. For West Ham the loss of Cheik Kouyate in particular is a major blow that is likely to  greatly impact upon our fortunes during January.  

Similarly, having finally recovered from a prolonged injury, Andre Ayew will be whisked off to play for his native Ghana - just when he seemed to be finding his form in the Hammers side.


However, in better news, both Kouyate and Ayew have been given permission to appear in today's crucial match at home to Man United. 

In other news, Sofiane Feghouli has been left out of the Algerian squad and can thus focus upon revitalising his Hammers career. While our Summer signings have mostly failed to impress, Feghouli has been a more complicated case in that at times he has looked impressive but simply has not been able to achieve the necessary consistency.

The next few games will be a serious test for some of the players around the fringe of the first team - Obiang, Lanzini, Fernandes, Feghouli and Nordtveit will all be hoping to find some decent form.

COYI!!!


 

Positive Feeling Descends Upon Olympic Stadium

Martinez: on fire!

West ham have endured a mixed start to life since making the move to the Olympic Stadium. An early season injury crisis has forced the club to dig deep into their resources to bolster their fragile forward line but, ultimately, the squad now looks very impressive.

As they prepare to receive Watford to the OS today, the good news is that Dimitri Payet is ready to start and can team up again with fit again Manny Lanzini. The mouthwatering prospect of an attacking midfield trio of Payet-Lanzini-Feghouli may have to wait another week as Feghouli played the first half of last night's Prem-2 (err reserves to us old timers!) 2-2 draw with Wolves. A late appearance from the bench may unfold today but if so, probably as a substitute for either Payet or Lanzini.

Meanwhile, up front things are ready to finally light up as Simone Zaza is set to make his debut. The Italian is a livewire and has looked impressive in training since his arrival from Juve. There can be little doubt that Hammers fans have high expectations for Zaza as he was the clear winner in a recent poll exploring who fans believe is our best striker when fit. Zaza seized 53% of the vote with Andy Carroll back in second with 12% and Ashley Fletcher third at 9%.

With Ayew and Carroll making good progress with their injuries, the other good news is that 19 year old hitman Toni Martinez is banging in goals for the Prem-2 side, with 6 already in 5 games this season for Terry Westley's side.

Despite losing 2 of their three opening games this season - defeats away to Chelsea and Man City are not too disappointing and the Hammers have a 100% win record at the OS having won 1-0 against Bournemouth a few weeks back. Today's visitors are Watford who have only managed a point so far and do not look like the side who so impressed last season. Even Mystic Mark (Lawrenson) thinks the Hammers will win (predicts 2-0) which may be a curse!

With the attacking options again available West ham will hope to finally kick start their season. Let's hope Zaza can mark his debut with a goal to lift our spirits.

COYI.

Fifty Four Minutes to Savour for Hammers Fans

Aaaagh! The new season is underway and already there's been loads to chuckle about. Hammers fans may be left twiddling their thumbs waiting for some action until Monday night, but many will have enjoyed the 54 minutes this afternoon when Tottenham Hotspurs were rock bottom of the Premier League!

Upon going behind to a Ross Barkley strike in the 5th minute of their match against Everton, mathematically they were below all other 19 clubs.....oh for a timefreeze machine!

It was not until Eric Lamela equalised in the 59th minute that they hauled themselves off the bottom of the league on what turned out to be a cagey day for results, where three of the six matches concluded so far ended in draws and the remainder all decided by a single goal.

Meanwhile, in more good news, Manny Lanzini should return to the action in 3-4 weeks. No doubt Sofiane Feghouli will be planning to have nailed down the second lockpicker role in the Hammers attack by then and the competition between these two talented attacking midfielders looks set to be a fascination all season!

COYI!!!

.

 

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.





 

Five Positives to take from Domzale Defeat

Cheer up lads!

Competitive football in July is a strange delight. It takes our attentions away from the tiresome transfer merry-go-round while providing an opportunity to run the eye over new signings and younger talent coming through. However, as last night's disappointing performance against Slovenian 'giants' NK Domzale demonstrated, it can also expose our lack of game sharpness and sap confidence.

Despite the obvious negatives from a game where we never got out of second gear, there were some definite positives to take from what was a revealing encounter:

1. Sofiane Feghouli will be a huge addition. Although he drifted out of things as we lost our way in the second half, before that he looked very lively and assured on the ball. He is clearly blessed with a tasty first touch that makes space for everyone around him and preseason has shown that he knows what to do with the ball when given the chance. No doubt every Hammers fan is looking forward to seeing him link up with Mr Payet as one senses they are very likely to 'click'.

2. The Michail Antonio 'experiment' MUST now be abandoned. Aside from it's stunning failure, it's only a matter of time until another club senses that he is being misused at West Ham and swoops with an offer to play him in his proper position. He simply doesn't think like a defender, both positionally and in terms of his tackling as he innately tries to win the ball rather than block progress. After Domzale's second goal he looked lost - neither fish nor fowl he looked fearful of attacking but still out of position in defence. Byram looked better at RB when he moved there but we are very thin on full backs for a side with major aspirations. Mr Bilic's case for funds to sort out the full back positions was certainly strengthened by last night's proceedings.

3. Enner Valencia needs a fresh start at a new club. He may well still be banging them in for Ecuador but he has failed to deliver during his time at West Ham. Last night he again looked out of sorts and after his first few efforts floundered you could sense his head dropped. It's Matt Jarvis syndrome all over again - nice guy but it's time to move on and make space in the squad for a more consistently incisive talent.

4. Given that the game was only aired on BT Sport it seems unlikely that top striking talent from across Europe and beyond will have observed the shambolic performance. We lost and deservedly so as we failed to create a single decent scoring opportunity and we gifted a soft penalty as compensation for an even softer one given earlier to Domzale. Strikers need service to shine and there was scant evidence that any new recruit could have done better than Andy Carroll last night. On a positive note, once again we were reminded how useful the big man is in defending set pieces as he cleared more than half of Domzale's sixteen corner kicks! Yes, sixteen!!!

5. Adrian is a truly top keeper. His double save at the end of last night's game kept West Ham firmly in the tie. A 3-1 lead would have put Domzale in a envious position, especially as we seem to concede goals for fun right now. At 2-1 we won't have to chase the game too much and are surely still favourites to progress. Last night's result will make next week's Olympic Stadium debut all the more exciting and meaningful. Rather than some tame affair with a foregone conclusion, we will surely see a strong side get stuck in to Domzale. It'll be a chance to test our ability to recreate the Boleyn atmosphere - a challenge we are all looking forward to.

That's more like it!