Mrs Brady Against The Old Lady...

Juve head coach Massimiliano Allegri has named his starting XI for the game.
of Gianluigi Buffon, Dani Alves, Medhi Benatia, Daniele Rugani, Alex Sandro, Mario Lemina, Miralem Pjanic, Kwadwo Asamoah, Roberto Pereyra, Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic.

New signing from Barcelona, Dani Alves will make his first start for Juve, while Allegri also confirmed that Gonzalo Higuain – the club's €90million signing from last season's runners-up Napoli – will make an appearance from the substitutes' bench against Slaven Bilic's men but it is unclear hether on/off Hammers target Simone Zaza will play, although he is named in the 23 man match squad. Paul Pogba is left out while he continues his negotiations with Manchester United.

The likely West Ham side is less clear, with the returning Collins, Ogbonna and Payet not yet match fit, Hammers fans will be hoping to get a glimpse of their Euro 2016 stars in action. Either way, its DergHammers SC first official visit to the new Stadium.

West Ham identify suitable Sakho replacement

Among the many compelling reasons to try to keep Diafra Sakho at West Ham is his propensity to pop up with sensational hair styles. As any proper expert on modern footie will readily confirm, a healthy representation of colourful barnets is a must have for any wannabe top club. To that end Sakho has delivered in bucket loads with his variety of shaven designs and punky mohawkery.

But happily, Sakho can now be let depart with the news that the Hammers have identified a suitable replacement in French left back Arthur Masuaku.

The 22 year old is currently on the books at Olympiacos having graduated from the Valenciennes academy in France. As the picture demonstrates, Arthur is more than capable of delivering the kind of deliciously foolish hair arrangement that Hammers fans crave.

Masuaku is pacey and particularly strong going forward. He has represented Les Bleus at U18 and U19 level and is tipped to replace Patrice Evra who will be 47 years old on his next birthday, probably. Masuaku's talents have not gone unnoticed with Roma and Inter both said to be interested.

Word is that the Hammers have tabled a £6m bid and that Masuaku is on his way for a medical.

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.





 

Anyone else got the New Stadium Jitters?

Tomorrow sees a new era as West Ham start life in the Olympic Stadium. What should have been a foregone conclusion in fact will be an exciting affair as the Hammers need to win to progress in Europe and thus the game will test our ability to create a Boleyn-style atmosphere in the larger and less enclosed new stadium.

Although this is all very exciting, it inevitably brings up many fond memories of Upton Park and the sense that they are really consigned to a part of history that can never be recreated. My father, a lifelong Hammer and now deceased, will never witness this. It's a time to remember those who cannot share this moment, God Rest them.

Perhaps even worse, is the worry that we will go all metrosexual like the tragic Gooners. Will it be Jamie Oliver's Italian Bistro instead of the Ribman? The Tap-East 'brewery-pub' instead of the Boleyn?....Never!

It'll take time to adjust but let's hope the team gets straight into the groove. 888Sport have the Hammers at 9/50 on to win, with Domzale at 13/1 (surely generous given the circumstances?) and a draw at 11/2 against.

As of yet we have no idea where it will be televised.....It's possible that this historic occasion may not be on live TV!!! A real blow for those long distance fans who cannot afford the late booking costs of flights that include a Friday morning return...welcome to Thursday night Europa League football.....hmmmm.

We predict an early breakthrough with a 3-0 win for the Hammers as they get into gear after last weeks misfiring display.

COYI!!!







 

SuperSlav's Options for Starting XI for Europa League Clash

Slaven Bilic made his intentions clear today that West Ham would wholeheartedly compete for a place in the next round of the Europa League. As such NK Domzale can expect an offensive Hammers starting XI with Bilic taking full advantage of his returning Euro 2016 heroes to bolster the side.

We predict that he will finally abandon the nonsense of playing Michail Antonio out of position at right back and instead use his talents on the right wing, with Sofiane Feghouli switching flanks and Enner Valencia moving to the bench.


This will be enabled by bringing both James Collins (CB) and Angelo Ogbonna (Left back) into the side, with Sam Byram moving to his preferred (right) flank. Havard Nordtveit can thus move in front of the back four as the defensive midfielder in a Christmas tree formation (4-3-2-1).

If Collins is not well enough recovered he may go for one of the Reece's alongside Reid. Having let James Tomkins leave the squad we must assume that SuperSlav has huge faith in these two developing talents.

Expect this to become a 4-2-2-2 if things don't go well with Valencia replacing Nordtveit but moving to the left wing to allow Feghouli to go to the right side and Antonio to provide a second striker.

One other option would be to play Ashley Fletcher up front with Andy Carroll from the start but given the Slovenians pace on the counter Bilic will be fearful of conceding away goals, and will likely play it conservatively to see how things go for the first 45 mins.

Either way, it'll be an exciting evening. Let's hope the extra week of preparation will stand to our lads.







 

Say Hello to 'The Phenomenon'!

He may have a nickname that brings to mind cheesy sci-fi films, but Jonathan Calleri is Hammers bound!

Various media sources have confirmed that the long-mooted transfer has finally happened, while Calleri himself confirmed the move earlier today on television saying:

 “I will play at West Ham. It is now closed. I wanted to play in Europe. I hope I can adapt as soon as possible to the Premier League.”

The  one year loan deal had been delayed by a work permit application but this has obviously now been granted.

As the link below confirms, 'The Phenomenon' is a natural striker who likes to play centrally rather than out wide (as so many of our current forwards seem to prefer!).

He is also partial to the kind of trickery that Hammers fans became used to when Ravel Morrison was at the club, with an astonishing rabona chip for the first goal shown in the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8tJbmgQ970

Although only 22, he has already excelled in the Argentinian, Uruguayan and Brazilian leagues. His arrival will be delayed by his selection for Argentina in the Olympics.

Where he will fit into SuperSlavs plans remains to be seen.


 

All Quiet on the Westham Front....for now!!!

It's been a frustrating few weeks at West Ham. Despite the huffing and puffing about big money signings, so far we have picked up a few potential bargains on loans and free transfers but no sign of that promised marquee signing who might push us onto the next level. So far we have net spendings of a mere £5million while our would-be competitors amongst the 'top six' have all committed multiples of that amount.

Add to that the terrible Cresswell injury and Diafra Sakho's imminent exit and we look in trouble facing into a second leg in the Europa league where we trail Slovenian minnows NK Domzale 2-1 after an embarrassing first leg last Thursday. In truth, with such a thin squad maybe the Europa League is too much to ask and some fans are already wondering if perhaps another early exit might be for the best.

But there's still a month to go in the transfer window and the real business starts now. Last year the real signings all appeared late in the day and were not those that had been the subject of seemingly endless media speculation. Ogbonna, Randolph, Lanzini, Antonio and even Payet all came without much warning or fanfare. Quietly, West ham had been doing their homework and getting on with building a squad fit to finish seventh.

Slaven Bilic is currently ranked 21st best manager in the world at present. We are the 17th richest club. Along with the Olympic Stadium, surely we must be the fastest rising club on the planet right now? SuperSlav has quite a few kids looking to break through and he needs to manage their expectations carefully or they will depart in search of better playing time opportunities. At the very least that makes the Europa League potentially useful.

Equally, if we really want to hold on to Payet then we need to show ambition in the transfer market. Some times you've just got to pay up for quality. rumours suggest that we have a £50 million transfer pot to use. £10 million would surely sort out our full back problems, leaving plenty to play with as we look for two strikers. With the Davids previous success with getting decent loan signings we should be able to bring in another 5-6 signings. By the end of the transfer window we will undoubtedly have a vastly strengthened squad. Let's be patient.

Right now we are 8-1 against to finish in the top four. Might be a good time to throw a few spare quid in preparation for our most exciting season in years.

COYI!!!