The Quiet Rise of George McCartney

I suspct I wasn’t alone in questioning the signing of George McCartney from a relegated Sunderland team. It took him a long time to get into the team and his first few games were distinctly average. But in the last ten games McCartney has developed into quite a player. He’s never going to be a headline grabber, but his quiet efficiency hasn’t gone unnoticed. A couple of nightmare performances earlier in the season have been forgotten after a series of quality showings in which he has been excellent defensively and far more confident going forward. In short, he’s now made the position his own. His run down the left in the game against Wigan exemplified how far he has come. He just would not have had the confidence to make that run earlier in the season.

George McCartney, we salute you.

It’s Days Like These

It’s days like these when I know why I support West Ham. The joy of it. And somehow, just somehow, a little bit of me knew we would do it. If anyone was at the game, pelase let us know your thoughts. From what I could here Tevez, Zamora, Benayoun, McCartney and Noble played out of their skins.

Our goal difference is now only five worse than Wigan’s. I really hope it doesn’t come down to that. We really have to go for it against Bolton, who are no one’s mugs.

I’m doing the newspaper review on News 24 tonight at 11.45pm. Let’s see if I manage to get West Ham into it somehow!

PS Leeds, eh? Couldn’t happen to nicer club.

Terence Brown Should be Kacking Himself

If I were Terry Brown (perish the thought) I’d not have had a good night’s sleep. Surely Eggert Magnusson will be trying to get the £5.5 million fine back from the former chairman. It’s quite clear now that the club didn’t just keep documents from the Premier League, they actually lied. Paul Alridge and Scott Duxbury seem to be the guilty parties. Mr Duxbury ought now to be fearing for his job.

I was expecting a three point deduction yesterday and we’re bloody lucky we didn’t get it. There are plenty of other examples of clubs who have had points deducted for far, far less serious matters. If I were a Fulham, Charlton or Wigan supporter I would be fuming. But I’m not, so I’m counting our lucky stars.

This afternoon is the latest must-win game for the Hammers. Thank God Tevez is allowed to play. I shall be glued to Radio 5, as it’s the live commentary.

I doubt whether there will be many changes from the Everton game. However, I do think Curbs will be putting a reserve goalkeeper on the bench this time!

He’s Better Than Jermaine

Well Bobby Zamora’s on song at the moment isn’t he? At he beginning of the season he got 5 in 5 and now he’s done it again. If only he could have got the same ratio in the other games, we’d be top of the league! Seriously, yesterday’s game was one that gave us a chance again. I know I keep writing us off, and as it seems to bring us luck, I’d better continue to do it. But if we win our next two games, it really does look as though that might be enough. I just can’t see Fulham and Charlton getting any more points. Sheffield United are safe, I reckon so it’s two out of four – the other one being Wigan.

We Need 36 Points to have a Chance…

We need 36 points to even have a chance of staying up, so anything but a win this afternoon is unthinkable. Unfortunately I can’t be there as I am on the north Norfolk coast, but I shall be spending a very stressful ninety minutes being soothed by the sound of the waves on Holkham beach.

It’s difficult to guess the team for this afternoon. I hope Ferdinand is not brought back, but I expect he will be. After his appalling showing against Chelsea Boa Morte deserves to be dropped.
I’d like to think we can pull it off this afternoon but I don’t have a good feeling about this game. I hope I am wrong.

The Chelsea Aftermath

The first thirty five minutes of last night’s game were as good as you’d find anywhere in the Premiership. We held our own and looked dangerous when attacking and solid in defence. Tevez’s goal seemed set to spark the type of display which could even have led to West Ham winning. But it was not to be. Within thirty second we had fallen behind due toi a terrible defensive error by James Collins and some neat finishing by Shaun Wright-Phillips. From then on it was just a question how how many Chelsea would score. Carlos Tevez seemed to be playing in his own at times, appearing at left back, right back, central midfield. You certainly couldn’t fault his effort. We just went through the motions in the second half. Our only chance now is to win our next three games, and we’d end up on 38 points. That could – just could, be enough, but our goal difference is so horrendous that we’d probably need a point at Old Trafford. Not likely, is it?

From Stamford Bridge to Upton Park…

You all know the next line… And if you don’t, why are you here?! We need a result tonight otherwise we are dead in the water. The crowd will play an important part. We cannot afford to concede an early goal. Reo Coker and Noble will the be the key lynchpins and will need to hold their own in midfield.

We have got three big wins out of Arsenal and Man U this season. A result tonight would be bigger than all of them. We know we do well against big teams. At Stamford Bridge earlier this season we didn’t get the draw we deserved. Let’s make up for it tonight.

C’mon you Irons!

Will we ever see Yossi again?

If reports are to be believed, Yossi has had the mother of all bust-ups with Alan Curbishley who has told him he can go swing. Curbs was none too pleased at Yossi playing for Israel but saying was injured at West Ham.

It will be a shame to lose such a talented player, but like his Israeli predecessor, you could never describe Yossi as a team player.

UPDATE: Well, as he was in the team tonight I guess the answer to my headline is YES!

Are You Trying to Tell us Something, David?

Ex West Ham and England goalkeeper David James, now at Portsmouth, has written a fascinating ARTICLE in The Observer today, which may cause a few reverberations around the dressing rooms of many Premiership football clubs. He asks why not a single professional footballer has come out of the closet and admitted to being gay. He writes…

If one in 10 people are gay, where are all the gay Premiership stars? It’s a question that’s often asked, but there are only whispers, dodgy rumours and malicious media gossip for answers. Football, it seems, is one of the last professional environments where you can’t be out and proud. In every other entertainment industry we have gay stars. Why should football be different? Are football fans really so incapable of watching a gay player without abusing him? The same bunch of fans who are routinely homophobic always sing along to the camp-as-you-like Scissors Sisters anthems played at grounds up and down the country or the Pet Shop Boys song ‘Go West’?

A senior executive in football said to me he wished all the gay footballers would come out so we could just get on with it. I find that view refreshing. In marketing terms they could make a fortune. Just imagine, football’s first gay couple playing for rival teams, arguing about offside decisions over the dinner table. They would do Hello! magazine, chatshows, advertisements. Would it upset players being naked in the changing room together? What about the after-hours highly homoerotic activities – indulging in football threesomes and roastings? Would football culture ever be the same again? I can’t imagine it would be possible for a 17-year-old to come out, no matter how good he was. The protective bubble of success wouldn’t be there. You’d have to prove yourself first before you could be openly gay and still be accepted…

Down the years I could easily have been accused of being gay. I was a bit different – I modelled for Giorgio Armani, sparking rumours over which designers wanted to get into my pants; I practised yoga; I read, I paint. I’ve been to The Boardwalk – a gay club in Manchester – although I was with my wife at the time, and I’ve even driven past the local gay dogging spot in Devon – there were a couple of guys in tight black shorts and vests looking like Village People try-outs…

I have a number of gay friends and although they wouldn’t want me shouting from the rooftops about their sexuality, I’d like to encourage them to come out. I accept that it’s easy for me to say that, but how many more years will it be before we can talk openly about gay men playing professional football? From next season homophobic chanting is outlawed, which is a start. It’ll still take some sort of new age hero to be the first to come out, but I just hope, for football’s sake, that it happens soon.

There have been a number of rumours down the years about various West Ham players dancing on the other side of the pitch. Would it have made any difference to our support for them? I’d like to think not. Sport seems to be the only section of society nowadays where it is a complete no-no to be openly gay. Even politicians have come out of the closet with no consequence. People just don’t care anymore. Or do they?

Sheffield United – Anton Lets the Side Down

Gutted, not just by the result but by the performance – or at least what I have seen of it. There’s no doubt that Anton Ferdinand is being made the villain of the peace, and porbably rightly. He got booked, gave away the free kick that led to the first goal and was at fault for the third. I suspect his place might be under threat on Wednesday. Tevez could have had a couple of goals which would have made it a very different game indeed.

I’ve had a look at the remaining games for all the clubs involved in the relegation battle and I am sorry to say that I think it will be ourselves and Charlton that will go down with 36 points. Unless of course, we can pull something out of the bag against Chelsea or Man U. And you wouldn’t be surprised if we beat one of those two, would you… and then lost against Wigan… That’s the West Ham way.

The News of the World has a story today about Carlton Cole and Anton Ferdinand shagging the same woman … and she’s now pregnant. She thinks it’s Carlton’s, but she’s not sure. Sounds like more hope than expectation to me…

Sheffield Nerves of Steel Required

There’s no doubt about it, we can’t afford to lose this afternoon. If we can win this and maybe get a point against Chelsea it will set us up nicely for the run in. I’d have thought Alan Curbishley will name an unchanged team, but possibly shake up the subs a bit. We will definitely need to ‘mix it’ a bit this afternoon. Mark Noble and Nigel Reo Coker will be the key players in my view. We need to control central midfield.

Fingers crossed! My heats says 2-0 to us, my head says 1-1.

Where Are They Now: Dani

Remember Dani? Harry Redknapp always seemed reluctant to play him, but he was surely one of the most talented players to pull on a Hammers shirt. I remember the goal he scored at White Hart Lane very well.

So what happened to him? Where is he now?

Neil Wants Nigel

Several papers are carrying rumours that Sheffield United Manager Neil Warnock wants to sign Nigel Reo Coker. Don’t make me laugh. He’d never go to a team like them. Mind you, I’d quite like to see how he would react to a Warnock hairdryer.

Robert Green: England’s Number One

There’s little doubt about it who was the hero of the Emirates this afternoon. Robert Green had his best game yet for West Ham and must surely be knocking on the door of the England team. He saved three certain goals in the second half. He was immense. But let’s not forget the rest of the team. They showed dogged determination and ground the result out. Yes, lady luck was with us today, but you don’t get results like this without deserving it.

The second half showed West Ham at their industrious best. Reo Coker and Noble harried in midfield as if their lives depended on it (wonder who Nige was trying to impress). Bowyer continued his excellent first half display and Collins and Ferdinand showed great resilience in the centre of defence. Spector also showed great courage after he came on at half time.

So where does this leave us? Fighting, that’s where. Fighting for our lives. I admit I thought we were down and out, but thus victory was key for us. If we can beat Sheffield United, get something out of the Chlesea game and then beat Everton we’ll surely be out of the bottom three.

It’s good to be a Hammer this evening.

Green 10 – Perfect. Nothing more to say
Ferdinand 8 – Dealt with everything that came his way
Collins 9 – Immense in the air after a dodgy first ten minutes
McCartney 6 – Subbed at half time
Spector 8 – Tough tackling and great in the air
Neill 7 – One great marauding run forward
Noble 8 – Quite in the first half immense in the second
Reo Coker 9 -Held the midfield together and got forward well in the second half
Bowyer 8 – Best game for a long time
Zamora 7 – Took his goal brilliantly and held the ball up well
Tevez 6 – Quietest game for some time but flashes of brilliance
Etherington 7 – Didn’t get forward enough but helped out well defensively
Boa Morte 4 – Anonymous after he replaced Zamora

He Came From Shite Hart Lane…

He’s better than Jermaine, Zamora!

How on earth we are in the lead, Christ only knows. Arsenal coukd have been three up in eight minutes and had at least eight scoring opportunities during the first half. The Hammers defence looked very shaky at first but gradually improved. We barely entered the Arsenal half in the first 20 minutes but as the half wore on the confidence grew. Tevez has been quite quiet but showed a couple of flashes. Bowyer and Reo Coker have been busy but Mark Noble has been largely anonymous. Collins and McCartney have slipped a few times – the surface seems very slippery.

Now the big question is; can we defend a lead for 45 minutes? I just can’t see Arsenal not scoring in the second half. I hope I am wrong.

Waiting for the Game

I’m now in my seat at the Emirates, just behind one of the goals. I’d be telling a porky if I said I wasn’t impressed by the stadium. Huge seats and plenty of legroom, which if you’re 6’2 and a bit of a fat bastard like me you appreciate. It feels very much like an American sports arena and I wonder if it is easy to generate much of an atmosphere.

I reckon the average salary of the people in the bit I am in can’t be far short of £100k. There are plenty of the nouveau football ‘fans’ as portrayed in the Fast Show sketch. In fact I think the guy in the wore an Arsenal shirt. As I am in with the gooners I thought I wouldn’t wear my shirt with DICKS on the back, so I have gone for my white shirt with subtle claret and blue checks on it. V stylish. Not.

I can’t believe it is almost 2.30 and they still haven’t announced the teams yet. The West Ham players are warming up at the other end so I can’t see who they are.

But I can tell you that the referee is Graham Poll. Oh dear.

Get Rid of the ‘Maradonas’

A classic moment on Five Live just now when a West Ham fan said he would rather watch a team of eighteen year old who put their heart into it, rather than a collection of overpaid Maradonas.

I guess you had to be there. Just arrived at the Emirates. What a stadium. More in a moment.

Arsenal Away

Well it seems Matthew Upson has done his hamstring again. I’m off for my first visit to the Emirates tomorrow having been lent a season ticket by a friend who’s in India. I don’t know why but I am quite optimistic about our chances. What I wouldn’t give for a repeat of last seaosn’s game at Highbury!

I reckon Curbsihley will field an unchanged side, but then what do I know. Well, what I do know is that if we beat Arsenal and then Sheffield United we’ll be putting a lot of pressure on the teams above us.

What I’m most looking forward to tomorrow is seeing Mark Noble cement his place and also to see the Tevez/Zamora partnership developing further.

Wouldn’t it be great to put one over on Wenger again? I bloody hate Arsenal.

Eggie Writes a Letter

Like many of you, I had a letter from Eggert Magnusson this morning, reassuring us of his plans for next season. As a PR effort it’s a great move and is a welcome change from the previous regime.

Tevez Wants to Stay

According to a well placed source at the club, Carlos Tevez want to stay at West Ham even if we go down. Whether the club will be willing to pay his wages is another matter…

The man’s a hero to the fans. Anyone care to contribute to a whip round?!