Liverpool Match Report

That will teach me to leave two minutes before the end! Apologies this is a bit delayed. Am at Heathrow Airport on my way to Washington for ten days. In my innocence I assumed there would be computers available but every single one is out of order. Typical BAA. Anyway, I digress.

The first half yesterday was dominated by a West Ham team who were clearly up for it. Three times the ball failed to drop for us in the penalty area and I don’t think we had a shot, but more importantly neither did they. Defensively we were again awesome. Some of Upson’s play was spellbindingan although one wayward backpass which went for a corner had my heart in my mouth.

Anton and George were, as usual, also on form and I thought Lucas Neill had his best game for a long time. He got caught out of position a couple of times but Gerrard didn’t take advantage.

Talking of Gerrard, it comes to something when he is eclipsed but Mark Noble owned him last night. I know some people on this blog reckon I overrate him but after that performance surely even they can see his quality. He was absolutely everywhere. Indeed the middle three all performed well. Hayden Mullins looks so confident now. Our first half performance was in large part down to the success of Noble, Mullins and Bowyer dominating the central areas.

When I saw we were going to play 4-5-1 at home my heart sank. It’s not the West Ham way. However, it seems to bring out the best in these players, especially Carlton Cole, who, again, was a revelation. He held the ball up superbly and seemed to win everything in the air.

There are three contenders for Man of the Match – Nobes, Upson and Cole. I’ll go (surprise, surprise!) for Mark Noble.

I’m afraid the broken record is about to be played again, but I do have to mention the perforamnce of Luis Boa Morte, who was appalling. After missing two chances he just seemed to give up. He persistently lost the ball and was, well, just crap. And the way he loped off the pitch, wasting valuable time was a disgrace. There are still 12 hours left in the transfer window to flog him, but let’s face it, who would want him in this form.

It has to be said that when he went off and was replaced by Matty, not a lot changed. Ashton came on too and we reverted to 4-4-2.

A final word about Freddie Ljungberg. Another great performance. I may have to eat my words on him…

All in all, just what I needed before an eight hour flight.

And don’t worry, I’ll still be posting every day while I am away.

Green 8
Upson 9
McCartney 8
Ferdinand 8
Neill 7
Bowyer 7
Noble 9
Mullins 8
Boa Morte 4
Ljungberg 8
Cole 9
Etherington 6
Ashton 6

The Best & Worst West Ham Transfer Window Buys

I don’t know what my colleague at the Daily Telegraph Martin Smith has got against West Ham – maybe he’s a Sheffield United supporter. But his list of the 25 Worst Ever Transfer Window buys rather beggars belief. In a list of 25 players he’s included no fewer than six West Ham players…

25. Calum Davenport
24. Yaviv Katan
23. Lee Bowyer
8. Luis Boa Morte
3. Nigel Quashie
2. Matthew Upson

You may well be scratching your head in bewilderment wondering if the author of this list inhabits the planet earth. Quite what Nigel Quashie has done to him in a previous life is anyone’s guess, but as well as featuring at number 3, he also features at 4 and 5! And I think anyone who knew anything about West Ham would consider Matthew Upson to be a fantastic buy for us. I am of course fully in agreement with him about Boa Morte, although I feel he could be rather higher in the list!

Mr Smith partially redeems himself in the 25 Best Ever Transfer window buys by including Nigel Reo-Coker at 22, Lucas Neill at 10 and Dean Ashton at 4.

Discuss.

Is Our Season Already Over?

No new signings, out of both cups, safe from relegation, mid-table mediocrity. The way some people are talking, our season is over and it’s only the end of January. In my role as a glass half full merchant, let me tell you they’re wrong and how we still have a lot to play for.

We may be in tenth place, with a fair gap between us and nineth, but we can reduce that gap by three points tomorrow. I really believe that we can challenge for a European place. But more importantly I believe the players believe that too. We have several excellent players coming back from injury. The competition for places will soon be very hot indeed. We have the best defensive record outside the top four. If only we could score a bit more often and drive home the advantage we’d be several places higher than we actually are. The key to this are the two wide players. Too often thos season we have played with too little width. When Ethers is on form and believes oin his ability to beat opposing players he is an automatic pick. His understudy on the left, Boa Morte drifts infield too much to be described as a left winger. With Faubert emerging as a force and Solano coming back we have real competition with Ljungberg for the right wing slot. Too often this season we have had to play a player out of place in that position.

So I am really optimistic that we can finish a bit above where are now. We should be aiming for sixth place. After last season, who’d have thunk it?!

What Do You Want From the New Stadium?

It seems inevitable that within the next four years we will be moving from Upton Park to a new stadium. From what I understand we are using the same architects who are designing the new Liverpool stadium. The aim is to design a stadium better than the Emirates. The Liverpool stadium is placing great emphasis on getting the atmosphere right, something the architects of the Emirates singlularly failed to do. They want to recreate the spirit of the old Kop. Should this herald a new Chicken Run in our new stadium?! Someone emailed me today on this point…

We want a new stadium that is designed with heritage and thought to help generate atmosphere, lets face it even upton park is not as hostile as it once was! Wouldn’t it be great to see the club put a serious focus on trying to combat the decline of atmosphere. I really do hope they consult us fans, there has to be a way of making the new stadium a great place to play and ultimately enjoy the day and atmosphere.

So what are your priorities for the new stadium? What facilities should be provided? What can we learn from other stadia you have visited both in this country and abroad. People from the club read this blog, so this is your opportunity to tell them what you want.

Barack Obama’s Claret & Blue Army…

From Monday’s edition of The Sun…

AMERICAN presidential candidate Barack Obama is a secret West Ham fan.
Mr Obama, 46 – battling Hillary Clinton for the Democrats’ nomination – has been following the Hammers ever since a visit to Britain more than five years ago.
And he keeps in touch with the fortunes of Alan Curbishley’s side through his relatives in England – who are all Hammers fanatics.
The Kent-based clan – related to the US senator after his sister married an Englishman – now hope Mr Obama will be singing the club’s famous anthem “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” all the way to the White House.
The Obama campaign team recently revealed he is a massive football fan and was a nifty player himself while a student at Harvard Law School.
Mr Obama – bidding to become America’s first black President – watches Premier League games whenever his schedule allows, as long as matches don’t clash with his other great love – basketball.
A campaign source said: “Obama is a big sports nut and loves his soccer. He never really followed it, though, until he was told all about the passion of West Ham fans by some of his English relatives.
“He is always keen to find out how his adopted club are getting on.”
Rival Hillary, 60, has been linked with Manchester United after hubby Bill, the ex-President, revealed during a UK book tour that the Reds were his favourite team.

My allegiances are being rapidly transferred from Rudy Giuliani…

Who Are Our Stars of the Future?

It was great to see another two graduates of the Upton Park Academy feature against Arsenal on New Year’s Day. Jack Collison played for much of the game and James Tomkins was on the bench. I’m not a regualr follower of youth team football, so I can’t shed much light on who else is likely to make the big breakthrough in the next couple of years. So, who are the budding Joe Coles and Rio Ferdinands?

Move Along, Nothing to See…

Only seven more days to go in the transfer window and we have been involved in precisely, er, zero transfers in or out. I can’t decide whether that is a good thing or not. The NEWS NOW West Ham page carries precious few transfer rumours. Normally at this stage every other story would be a new bit of gossip. I can’t really believe we will get to the 31st and the situation will remain the same, but you never know.

I still think we should be trying to offload Dailly (whose move to Rangers fell through), Quashie and a couple of others. Oh, and Boa Morte :).

Ashton & Green Transfer Targets?

Let’s look at three rumours in the papers this morning.

Firstly, Kevin Keegan apparently wants to sign Dean Ashton for £7 million. This is the amount we paid Norwich for him. Few would deny his value has significantly increased since then, so that looks to be an undervaluation by at least £2-3 million. Should we even be tempted? There is a school of thought that says that Deano hasn’t been the same since his injury and that we should cash in while we can. There is no doubt that he’s not firing on all cylinders at the moment but I have seen enough to believe that it won’t be long before he is back to his best. VERDICT: DON’T SELL

Arsenal are also, according to a couple of papers, about to offer £7 million for Robert Green. Again, I’d say this is an undervaluation. And I would be devastated if we sold him. He’s been our most consistent performer for the last year and is an outstanding keeper. A complication of selling him would be that it would be difficult to line up a replacement with only a week of the transfer window still left. My gut feeling is that we will indeed sell him to Arsenal, but not until the Summer. It will be an interesting test of whether he and the Board believe this a club which is going placed. If he does, he’ll stay, but if moving to Arsenal will further his chances of playing for England we may be seeing the last few months of Robert Green in a West Ham shirt: VERDICT: KEEP IF AT ALL POSSIBLE

The third rumour concerns Giovanni Trappatoni coming in as Director of Football. The sixty eight year old Italian has a record which is second to none, but I have severe doubts about this. Can anyone name me a club where a Director of Football role has worked? And would it really work bringing in a foreigner with no knowledge of West Ham’s traditions? One paper even says this would be a precursor to him taking over from Curbishley! VERDICT: WE DON’T NEED HIM

How Much Is Our Squad Worth?

With Mark Noble apparently being valued at £4 million by Celtic, I started to wonder about the valuations of each of our players. So here’s a valuation of our squad based on their value if they were sold today (assuming full fitness).

Robert Green £8 million
George McCartney £4m
Lucas Neill £5m
Matthew Upson £8m
Anton Ferdinand £6m
Calum Davenport £1m
Danny Gabbidon £4m
Jonathan Spector £2.5m
Freddie Ljungberg £2.5 m
Scott Parker £7m
Craig Bellamy £7m
Dean Ashton £10m
Matt Etherington £4m
Carlton Cole £4m
John Pantsil £1m
Nolberto Solano £2m
Hayden Mullins £2.5m
Mark Noble £9m
Luis Boa Morte £2.5m
James Collins £2m
Richard Wright £0.5m
Julien Faubert £6m
Bobby Zamora £4m
Nigel Quashie £0.5
Kyel Reid £0.5m
Lee Bowyer £2m
Kieron Dyer £6m

TOTAL £111.5 million

So, which ones do you disagree with? All of them, probably!

Carlton Cole for England, Anyone?

A reader emailed me this morning to tell me of several of her friends who believe Carlton Cole might be a surprise inclusion in Fabio Capello’s first England squad, which will be announced next week, I think.

I have to say I will believe it when I see it, but you have to say that it is a mark of how far he has come this season that you can say the words ‘Carlton Cole for England’ and keep a straight face.

Surely he’s got to be a better bet than Emile Heskey?!

Peter Butler Unleashed!

Almost exactly a year ago I posted a WHERE ARE THEY NOW on Peter Butler. Peter has just sent me an email, which I have his permission to post here in full. It is highly entertaining and illuminating.

This is Peter Butler, ex-hammers player. My son, who is an hammers fan, said he had been on the site where obviously people post comments regarding me where some P***k has been slagging me off. Faor enough – I have broad shoulders and don’t really care but I want to put the record straight.

I live in Kuala Lumpur out of choice. I have a good life and my kids go to an international school here.

I left West ham for one reason only – not because I hated it there, as some idiot said. I loved every minute I had at West Ham Utd, but my mother was terminally ill and she died suddenly and I wanted to move nearer home to be near my Dad who was also not well. People often ask me why I left suddenly so there are the facts. I played with some excellent players their like Alvin, Bish, Clive & Martin Allen, Dicksy, Keeny etc and felt honoured to have put that claret and blue shirt on my back every game. Billy was fantastic to me and so was Harry who was instrumental in me joining the club. They are two people I had so much respect for and still have. It was a wonderful 2.5 years but my knees were playing up and i left for family reasons – end of story. Sad but true.

I then had an ill-feted spell at Notts County – 4 managers in 1 season – moved then to West Brom where I had 2.5 good seasons – great supporters at the Hawthorns. It went well but then I got offered a coaching position at Halifax Town, my home town team. That got off to a rocky start as I had people working against me coz they perceived me a threat to their positions in the coaching set up. Sad, weak bastards. That’s the thing about the English coaching set up – it’s so territorial. People are always watching their backs and a new face comes in and they shit themselves.

I left Halifax 2 years later and was offered a 3 year appointment on a sporting visa in Australia and loved it. I joined a small club called Sorrento in the Northern Suburbs of Perth, West Australia, as director of youth development and really enjoyed it. I met some wonderful people and have some great friends there to this day.

People often ask why I left england when I had a promising career ahead of me coaching ? Well, I was not prepared to sit on my arse and wait for another job. I love coaching and who would not have taken up an offer to coach and also finish my playing career in OZ – a truly wonderful experience.

I left Oz because the whole programme, from the A league down, was going through a total restructure and the job I was doing had gone as far as possible without additional funding. I could have stayed and enjoyed the Perth sunshine but thats not for me. I am driven and ambitious and was not ready just to live in Perth in the comfort zone – not my style. Plus its too quiet for me there.

I was then offered the Technical Director position at the East Malaysian Fa in Kota Kinabalu – a fantastic place to live and we had a lot of success there. I loved it, but then when things change there they change quick and I resigned due to problems behind the scenes.

I then went to Bali where I lived for a year, set up a business with a mate from England (who lives in OZ), bought land, built a house – then he decided to rip me off for over 200k dollars. So that went tits up and i am still in an Indonesian court fighting to recoup my investment. What a bastard. Not a great experience, but it made me sit up and smell the roses.

I still have a house and land there but will not end up living there. I moved onto Singapore where I coached the top side in Singapore SAF (Armed Forces ) had 8 months there. I took them to the top of the league, brought some good young kids into the team, then started getting interference from the general manager. His name was Colonel KOK – says it all!!! I resigned and moved back to East Malaysia, where I did 3 months consultancy work for the FA there. Then I came to Indonesia.

I coach a team here in the new Indonesian Super League called Persiba Balikpapan. It’s a wealthy oil and gas town in East Kalimantan. Good people who love their football. They are crazy about football here and its been like a busmans holiday for 14 months. I have travelled the length and breadth of Indonesia and I speak Indonesian, as it is similar to Malaysian, so it helps.

We get crowds at our place between 15- 20,000 every week and it’s crazy and it’s cut throat. Indonesian football is the strongest in South East Asia. They get huge crowds here. We played in East Java recently and there was over 45,000 in the ground. They are similar to the English supporters and they never stop singing. It’s certainly made me a better coach and a stronger and better person for the experience. It’s certainly chalk and cheese to Leigh – on – Sea and the Bbarking Road but what an experience! I would not have changed it for anything. I am still only 41 so there’s plenty of time for me to come back and coach in England, but I enjoy coaching and living in Asia. The game of football is going through the roof here. It’s growing and developing so rapidly.

I will never forget my time at West Ham. The fans were brilliant to me and I loved playing there. They are without a shadow of doubt the best fans in London and it was a pleasure and a riviledge to have pulled on that shirt and to have played for such great people.

I hope this puts the record straight from the horse’s mouth. I will never be rich living out here nor do I want to be, but I will always have a smile on my face, come what may !!

Butts

What an absolutely top man.

Manchester City: Let’s Look at the Positives

Well if ever there was a game we deserved to win and didn’t it was this one. Let’s concentrate on the positives. We played the team with the best home record in the division and we should have won. The defence was again magnificent. The central midfield worked well. Carlton Cole scored a cracker of a goal. Julien Faubert showed some great touches when he came on. There were only two negatives to the game – the referee and Luis Boa Morte. I know people think I have a thing about him and they’re right. Today you could see why. He was a liability. If Matty Etherington had been fit I reckon we’d have won. I also want to pay tribute to Hayden Mullins and Mark Noble, both of whom were immense. Noble nearly snatched it towards the end and perhaps should have, but let’s not ignore their goalkeeper, Joe Hart, who saved them time and again.

We now have one thing to play for: Europe. I really believe that we are now showing the kind of defensive consistency which achieves results. We have a central midfield which looks strong, and if we can only get our wing play and strikers sorted out I believe we can finish in the top 7.

And finally another big up for Carlton Cole. This boy has come on leaps and bounds. He’ll never be perfect, but in game after game he’s working his socks off, something most of us probably never thought we would see. His first touch is getting better and his shielding of the ball is now excellent. He’s going to give the manager a real headache when Ashton and Bellamy are both fit, not to mention Bobby Z.

Green 8
Upson 8
Ferdinand 8.5
McCartney 7
Neill 7
Mullins 8
Noble 8
Ljungberg 7.5
Boa Morte 5
Cole 8
Bowyer 7

Lee Bowyer: The Club I Love

There’s a long interview with Lee Bowyer in today’s Observer. Click HERE to read it. Here’s a taster…

After feeling he had let down himself – and everyone else – the first time at Upton Park, he returned not only to prove everyone wrong but to exorcise some demons. But when he ended up in another relegation scrap with the club he supported as a boy and with his confidence undermined by years of negativity, he was, unsurprisingly, consumed by self doubt.

‘I’ve come here twice and it was like we might get relegated twice, so I thought I was a Jonah. I thought, “What am I doing here? Everything’s going against me”. I just had this feeling like I’m not supposed to be here.’

That thought has not crossed his mind this season, although on the opening day against Manchester City he agrees he had probably the worst game of his career. ‘I just put myself under too much pressure,’ he says. ‘But it was one game and there were 37 more to go. I still had plenty of time to prove myself. I like to think I’m doing that. I’ve now scored goals for the club I love and things are going right.’

The horizon is brighter for his club too. ‘I think we can still challenge for Europe. We’ve stayed in touch, although we need luck to happen with players coming back from injury. If we had a run like we did at the end of last season then we’ll be up there. Our club has gone from rock bottom, but now we’re in the top half and we’re moving in the right direction.’

From rock bottom to moving in the right direction: just like Lee Bowyer.

Poor Calum Davenport

Calum Davenport has just been carried off the pitch in a neck brace in his first on loan match at Watford. I always thought he had it in him to get to the very top, but he’s never quite made it, either at Tottenham or West Ham. I feel really sorry for him tonight. Let’s hope that the injury is not as bad as might seem. I still believe he can be a great player, whether it’s at Upton Park or somewhere else.

Laugh? I Nearly Wet Myself

According to the Mirror, Celtic are to bid £4 million for Mark Noble. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

WE53 HAM Numberplate For Sale

You may remember that the numberplate WE57 HAM sold for £57,000 recently. The owner of a similar numberplate has contacted me to ask if I might help him sell WE53 HAM. He is not expecting £57,000 but he is expecting to make a five figure sale. If anyone is interested please email me (iain AT iaindale DOT com) and I will put you in touch. And yes, I will make a small commission if a sale is made!

Will We Ever Beat Man City?

There was a time when I used to look forward to playing Manchester City because we’d invariably beat them. We should have beaten them last night but contrived not to take our chances. It was not a good game. Indeed, it was tedious that I took refuge in my laptop for large parts of it.

For me there was no outstanding performance. No one excelled, and it’s for that reason we didn’t win. Noone took the game by the scruff of its neck. Dean Ashton was back out of firm. His first touch seems to have deserted him. And don’t get me started on the inadequacies of Luis Boa Morte. You couldn’t fault his effort but there was never any end result.

And is it just me, or has Robert Green’s form dipped in the last few games? I know I have just said the unthinkable, but he has looked just a little bit ‘flappy’ on occasions recently.

The team must make amends on Sunday. A repeat performance will not be good enough. If we aspire to a top eight finish we should expect at least a point out of the game.

Faubert to Start?

The Sun says Alan Curbishley will hand Julien Faubert his full debut tonight. It would be a brave move for a player who has only had 50 minutes of football after a serious injury. I imagine there will be a few other changes too – perhaps a well earned rest for George McCartney.

My West Ham: Matthew Lorenzo

Matthew Lorenzo is a presenter on Sky Sports.

How did you become a Hammer?
Inherited. My father was born around the corner from the ground and he passed it on. I’ve done the same to my son but he struggles a bit seeing as we live in Putney and everyone else supports Chelsea or Fulham.

Your first game?
Can’t remember a specific match but I was taken to Upton Park regularly from a very early age. It would have been in the mid sixties. My dad was a reporter for the Sketch or the Herald. He didn’t bother with passes. He made a point of knowing the commissionaire’s names. AND their wife’s names. Doesn’t work any more. Sadly.

How many games do you get to?
Only in midweek unfortunately. Sky takes up my weekends. I’ve never hidden my favouritism on air though. How can you be interested in football and claim not to have a team like a few commentators I know try and get away with? Despite remaining ardently neutral about West Ham in everything I do, I got reported as a bloody QPR supporter last week.

Most memorable moment?
The FA Cup semi final replay against Everton at Elland Road in 1980. Probably a wee bit biased but I can’t remember ever being as excited by a game of football in my life. Ed “Stewpot” Stewart, an Evertonian by birth, was sitting behind us. After the game I turned and asked him for an autograph for my sister. I could see he’d rather give me a head butt but he did the deed.

Have you met any Hammers players?
One of the first I met was a new signing from Charlton. We were at the training ground and he signed my book. He went on to become one our greatest ever signings, although for the first two years of his reign I thought he was called Billy Bones because his signature was next to illegible. I worked on the Walthamstow Guardian for five years so I got to meet a lot of the team from the early eighties. Alvin Martin was the easiest to talk to then and remains the same today. My father was great mates with Bobby Moore and hero worshipped him. I still look forward to seeing Geoff and Martin today.

Favourite current player?
I like Mark Noble because he ‘s a local lad and was always a Hammers fan. Not many of them nowadays and not many who combine his talent and appetite for the game.

Describe last season. How did it affect you?
The worst part was being accused of cheating. Neil Warnock described Tevez as the football equivalent of a murderer out on parole or something like that. You can understand it but at the same time it was unfair. Our form at the end of the season was fantastic. I went to Old Trafford with Eamonn Holmes, a Man Utd fanatic and my fitness trainer. We deserved to win that one and we deserved to stay up. I don’t know why it had to be such a last gasp experience, but like all fans, we are only ever kept in the dark while the money men move in their mysterious ways.

What are your hopes for this season?
Mid table. Well all right not relegated. Be nice to win the Cup after Gerard stole it from us in Cardiff.

Choose your all time Hammers Eleven
Phil Parkes
Ray Stewart
Frank Lampard
Alvin Martin
Bobby Moore
Billy Bonds
Trevor Brooking
Alan Devonshire
Geoff Hurst
Bryan Robson
Martin Peters

What do your colleagues make of your support for West Ham?
No one feels threatened by West Ham. We still play attractive football, we still don’t win enough games. We still have the best support in London. And fortune’s will always be bleedin hiding.

Theo Walcott Coming on Loan?

According to one of our readers, he’s seen this on a West Ham site…

Theo Walcott could be making the short move across London from Arsenal to West Ham on loan for the rest of the season. The move could see Walcott in Alan Curbishley’s depleted squad as soon as Sunday’s Premier League encounter with Manchester City.

The only reason I think there might be something in this is because I reckon if we go after another striker it will be someone on loan. With four strikers to choose from if they are all fit I just don’t think the board will stump up the required £10 million for another permanent striker without shipping someone out. Whether Theo Walcott is the answer, though, is to be doubted. I don’t see him as an out and out goalscorer. He rarely makes the Arsenal starting lineup. We’re not their nursery club. I vote no!