The True Cost of the Wimbledon Debacle Emerges

'No one likes us' - yeah, but some hate you more than others!

So here's the deal - having invested in flights and accommodation for three travelling from the West of Ireland to Stratford for the Liverpool game on Monday 4th February, the one result that I did not want was a draw on Saturday night. With plans to reschedule the Monday game to Sunday at noon I would have been out of pocket to the tune of £700! Definitely not a good result.

So, seeing as Pellegrini fielded an attacking side with two 'world' class strikers up front, and a decent side otherwise with a few well tested back up players coming in for game time you would have expected that West Ham would prevail against a side who cant cope in League One!

But then you've got to factor in that its the FA cup, its on telly and its an evening fixture - all bets are suddenly off!

In honesty, we expected Wimbledon to come out all guns blazing after a rousing prematch build up from Vinnie Jones. After half an hour my mate commented that once it got to half time they would be all punched out and the game would settle down and allow our technique to dominate. Ahem. Then Wimbledon scored at just the right moment - three times! 

Trailing by 3-0 a draw was really the best most West Ham fans could shout for - all except yours truly! For the first time in my life I found myself willing us not to score!!! All the while, however, I was thinking that if Millwall was the prize in the next round then I'd take the £700 hit, settle for 3-3 and take it back to the London Stadium where it would have been much harder for Wimbledon to press us into submission.

When the final whistle sounded I still had mixed emotions - the Liverpool trip was still viable but what if Wimbledon got Millwall in the next round?

Naturally, Sods law took over from that point. As Ball 2 and ball 4 were paired the realisation hit home just how cruelly the Gods of football had treated us once again.



 

Lomas Enters the Fray!

With the departure of Sam Allardyce straight after yesterday's Premiership finale, all eyes are on West Ham to see who will take up the hotseat at what the club has labelled "currently the most exciting job in football".

With ex-Hammer Slaven Bilic the firm favourite with the bookies, thee has been surprisingly little focus on another of the club's alumni - former captain Steve Lomas.

Having had hugely successful stints with the Saints at St Neots town and then St Johnstone, Lomas then excelled with a stint at the sinners of Millwall FC where he delivered a superb 25% win rate during his six month reign.

Unfortunately, the Saff London 'Lions' found the bright lights of success too much to handle and duly sacked the Claret n Blue hero - no small part in the chaos that has subsequently resulted in their tragic relegation to the third tier.

With such an awesome record of loyalty to the Hammers cause astute observers see him as a mere shoe-in for the gaffers job at Fortress Boleyn!

Neighbourhood Watch: Lions slide, O's walloped while Daggers push on.

Poor Millwall are looking doomed to slide into League One despite picking up an away point at Cardiff. It seems that they cannot recover from the early season genius of having an ex-West Ham captain to the helm! Three games to go and they need two wins and a draw to stand a realistic chance of staying up.

Meanwhile, Barry Hearn's quest to pinch the Olympic Stadium from big bullies at West Ham will have to go on hold as his side were thumped 6-1 by an MK Dons side adorned with ex-Hammers Jordan Spence and Rob Hall, the latter scoring. The O's are now in the relegation zone which can only serve to emphasize the absurdity of their claims for a stake in a 60,000 seater stadium!

Meanwhile the Daggers won 3-2 at Newport.

The injustice continued at Sheffield United where they could only manage a home draw against Bradford and now will look forward to another dose of tragedy in yet another League one playoff campaign. Sad stuff indeed, and all West Ham's fault.

Hammers Down Millwall Twice in a Week!

Twice in a matter of days the Hammers have downed hapless neighbours, Millwall.

First Freddie Sears came on for his new club Ipswich town and flicked on a delightful pass for the crucial goal to see off Milwall last weekend. Sublime!

Then, to add to the Lions misery, QPR loanee Mauro Zarate scored in a behind doors 4-3 victory this week.

All of this follows a stunning penalty shoot out win for the Hammers development squad late last year.

In the absence of a head to head fixture, it seems that the mighty Hammers are finding no end of creative ways to dominate their neighbours.

Howes the Hero in Latest Lion Taming!

Sam Howes: Lion Tamer

After all the irritation of another tiresome Goodison experience, Hammers fans will be cheered by the performance of our development squad who thumped lowly Millwall 8-7 (after penalties) in the 'Premier' League cup clash held behind closed doors earlier this week. 

Oops!

The two teams battled to a 0-0 score at the end of 90 minutes. Fred Onyedinma then fired The Lions ahead in extra time But almost immediately West Ham levelled through the ever-rising star that is Jaanai Gordon.

Pardon me, Sir!

In a thrilling finale, Hammers keeper Sam Howes emerged as the hero finally breaking the deadlock by saving the sixteenth spot kick of the penalty shootout!

Get outta my back garden you ruffians

The outcome was hardly surprising given that at full squad level West Ham are well ahead in matches played over the years with 9 wins, 11 draws and 5 loses in 25 fixtures. A full list of the fixtures is provided below for those Hammers who feel the need to luxuriate in the moment!

For poor Millwall this signals the latest disappointment in what looks like becoming a nightmare season for the club as they seem destined to face the drop to football's third tier where they will likely join tragic Sheffield United and possibly be accompanied in the drop by Wigan. 




West Ham United versus Millwall Full match history 

Season	Date	Home	Score	Away	Competition
2011/2012	Sat 04 Feb	West Ham Utd.	2 - 1	Millwall	Championship
	Sat 17 Sep	Millwall	0 - 0	West Ham Utd.	Championship
2009/2010	Tue 25 Aug	West Ham Utd.	3 – 1 (AET)	Millwall	League Cup
2004/2005	Sat 16 Apr	West Ham Utd.	1 - 1	Millwall	Championship
	Sun 21 Nov	Millwall	1 - 0	West Ham Utd.	Championship
2003/2004	Sun 21 Mar	Millwall	4 - 1	West Ham Utd.	League Division One
	Sun 28 Sep	West Ham Utd.	1 - 1	Millwall	League Division One
1992/1993	Sun 28 Mar	West Ham Utd.	2 - 2	Millwall	League Division One
	Sun 15 Nov	Millwall	2 - 1	West Ham Utd.	League Division One
1990/1991	Sun 24 Feb	West Ham Utd.	3 - 1	Millwall	Second Division
	Sat 10 Nov	Millwall	1 - 1	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
1988/1989	Sat 22 Apr	West Ham Utd.	3 - 0	Millwall	First Division
	Sat 03 Dec	Millwall	0 - 1	West Ham Utd.	First Division
1978/1979	Mon 14 May	Millwall	2 - 1	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
	Sat 07 Oct	West Ham Utd.	3 - 0	Millwall	Second Division
1947/1948	Mon 01 Sep	Millwall	1 - 1	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
	Mon 25 Aug	West Ham Utd.	1 - 1	Millwall	Second Division
1946/1947	Sat 25 Jan	Millwall	0 - 0	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
	Sat 21 Sep	West Ham Utd.	3 - 1	Millwall	Second Division
1938/1939	Mon 27 Mar	Millwall	0 - 2	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
	Tue 27 Dec	West Ham Utd.	0 - 0	Millwall	Second Division
1933/1934	Sat 03 Mar	West Ham Utd.	1 - 1	Millwall	Second Division
	Sat 21 Oct	Millwall	2 - 2	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
1932/1933	Tue 31 Jan	Millwall	1 - 0	West Ham Utd.	Second Division
	Sat 17 Sep	West Ham Utd.	3 - 0	Millwall	Second Division

Hammers Try To Nail Down Reid Deal

Fed up with all the squad-unsettling speculation regarding his future, Hammers central defensive ace Winston 'Wonderful' Reid  has decided to follow in the tradition of our best poets and ‘show not tell’ by chaining himself to the gates of the Upton park stadium in order to send out the strongest possible message to the Gooners of Middle Arse and Liverfool that he is a resolute Hammer.

Reports emerging from the Star Newspaper, Britain's leading Sports media outlet, indicate that Reid has agreed to a new four year contract at the considerably increased wage of 60K per week. However, despite these reports, the crafty board at West Ham have taken the precautionary measure of also physically securing the ace defender using some items from the current Ann Summers 'friendly' S&M range. 

With the Olympic era looming, only a fool would leave the good ship Hammers right now!

West Ham-Crystal Palace XI: The pick of former players

As the mighty Hammers of East London prepare for the short trip across to their South London neighbours at Crystal Palace, it's a huge match for both clubs after both endured disappointing defeats on the opening day fixtures. For Palace, matters are further complicated by the on-going issue of finding a new manager after the sudden departure of Tony Pulis. However, for some the fixture will provoke mixed emotions, including those players who have played for both clubs. Here, we consider the finest players to have served for both Eagles and Hammers-the West Eagles XI.






Steve Mautone. Selected mostly because he is the only 'keeper to have played for both with a single appearance for West Ham versus Notts Forest in September 1996 and a massive two league appearances for Palace in 1999. Now back in his native Oz as a coach with Melbourne Victory.






Paul Brush: A Plaistow lad who emerged from Hammer's famed academy system and went on to make over 150 appearances over a nine year spell before switching to Palace where he added another useful three years and 50 appearances.






Tony Gale: Silky centre back who made 300 appearances for the Hammers before a brief but Premiership-winning spell at Blackburn. Just two appearances for Palace at the end of a super career. 'Galey' is a busy football pundit who pops up on TV, radio and in the print media with his reflections on all things footie.








Neil Ruddock: Hilarious! Talented player who always played on the edge of legality. Multiple clubs 'enjoyed' his services in a long career - 'Razor' had a two year spell at the Boleyn and a further year after that at Palace. The one major blemish on his copybook is the two appearances for Millwall  back in 1988-9. Hard to miss his sizeable presence as a popular pundit on TV these days.






Chris Powell: Mr Charlton Athletic actually started life at Palace and his highest appearance tally is for the Shrimpers at Southend! Excellent and very competitive left back, Powell also had a useful spell at West Ham during our promotion campaign of 2004-5 where he (probably) learned the skills that have made him such a successful team manager at Charlton. Recently linked up with the Hammers again as the mighty Premiership side signed last year's player of the year at Charlton, young Diego Poyet.






Michael Hughes: 'Cheeky' was a firm favourite at the Hammers and always remembered for a certain final day of the season goal against Man United. Hughes arrived from FC Strasbourg in 1994 before the move was made permanent by virtue of a Bosman ruling in 1996. The diminutive (five foot six) midfielder made up for his lack of stature with his all-action style and a tasty left foot. Had a lengthy spell at Palace making 126 appearances and also acting as team captain for a year.





Hayden Mullins: Tactically savvy defensive midfielder who learned his trade under Terry Venables at Palace where he made over 200 appearances before moving to the Boleyn. Had to endure losing a play off final for West Ham against his former Eagles in 2004. Amasses 180 appearances for the Hammers before moving to Portsmouth and now at Notts County.






Carl Fletcher: A combative midfielder, he arrived at the Boleyn in 2004 after a lengthy spell at Bournemouth. He managed 44 appearances over two seasons with his last game in the FA Cup final draw with Liverpool. He moved to Palace where he was installed as club captain and enjoyed three seasons. He recently returned to Bournemouth as youth team coach after a disappointing spell at Plymouth Argyle as manager.





Ray Houghton: What were West Ham thinking when they let the young Houghton leave after a single appearance as a substitute! He went on to have a stunning career at Liverpool and Villa and is eternally famous for his goal for Ireland against England at the European Championships of 1988. Palace got a decent run out of him at the end of his career. A busy pundit with RTE sport.






Iain Dowie: Popular forward, albeit more hardworking than prolific! Enjoyed two spells at his beloved Hammers and is perhaps best remembered for a stunning headed own goal in dreadful conditions away to Grimsby! Had a prolonged spell a Southampton before a short stint at Palace and then back to West Ham. Forthright management style has had some successes and include a spell at Palace that ended acrimoniously with a legal case. Most of his time is taken up with punditry for Sky Sports these days but  return to management is more than possible.



Ian Wright: Talented athletic striker who started at Palace as part of the Wright-bright partnership. Then endures seven seasons with the Gooners before a 15 month spell at West Ham. Famously vandalised the referee's room at Upton Park after being sent off! Prolific just about everywhere he went but remembered by most fans for his accuracy with the Gooners. Top pundit who never fails to entertain, Wrighty doesn't do boring!





Substitutes: Freddy Sears   /   Marouane Chamakh   /  Clive Allen  / Matthew Upson / Danny Gabbidon  / Paul Kitson.
It is interesting that most of these players went to Palace after West Ham has dispensed with their services rather than vica versa.

So there we have it - in their heyday this side would probably have thumped either of today's West Ham or Palace sides!

We fancy West Ham to get revenge for last year's defeats against Palace with a 1-0 smash n grab raid.