Remembering Jonah

I don’t know about you but one of my favourite West Ham players from the mid 1990s was Steve Jones. It seems he has hit upon hard times since leaving the game and has recently sold his Charlton Play Off medal on Ebay for £2,751. I’m a bit late in posting this, but I got this email last week from one of my readers alerting me to the sale. I meant to post it at the time to try to boost the price, but I’m afraid I got sidetracked.

EMAIL 1: Hope you are well and have to say as a fellow Hammer and season ticket holder I love your blog, its a cracking read and I love to get involved …Anyway the reason I emailed you was that I think it is always sad to see any ex footballer hit a financial crisis and even more so when it is one of your own. Remember Steve Jones the Billericay boy that came good and signed for us, well over the last year or so I have watched him sell off his own personal collection of Hammers Memrobilia on ebay due to financial problems. It really makes me sad to see this happening and wonder why the football authorities have never set up some kind of scheme to help ex pros that have money probs; any ideas?

Anyway I saw tonight that Steve is now selling off his coverted Play Off winners medal from when he played at Charlton and I wondered if there was any way that you could help him to get more for it by putting it on your blog? here is the link:
If I had £2.5k I’d buy it myself but I haven’t, i find this whole thing really sad and know he’s not the first and will not be the last, it certainly makes you remember that pro’s have a very short shelf life. . Anyway I thought it was of interest and hope that someone with a packet of cash pays big bucks for it so Steve doesn’t have to sell any more of his stuff.

We shouldn’t forget that it is only ten years ago that players weren’t on the kind of money they are today. If Steve Jones was playing for West Ham or Charlton today he’s be on at least £10k a week.

Green in England Squad

Robert Green has been called into the England Squad to replace the injured Chris Kirkland. It’s about time too. I couldn’t be more delighted for him.

Everton Match Report

Make no mistake, this was a good result. It’s also a game we could easily have won. How wonderful was it to see Freddie Sears and Dean Ashton linking up so well, and Freddie nearly scoring the winner? It would have been no more than he deserved. After a dodgy start to the game I felt we dominated the second half. After Dean Ashton’s free kick which Howard somehow kept out with his leg at the end of the first half, we never really looked back. Defensively we look reasonably solid. The Setanata commentator blamed James Tomkins for the Everton goal, which I felt was a bit harsh. Whatever the truth of it, Tomkins kept his composure for the rest of the game and nearly scored with a header which bounded back off the bar fairly early on.

Interestingly, Mark Noble was very quiet during the first half and lost possession quite a lot. When he started playing, so did the whole team. Dean Ashton is looking sharper and sharper and his goal was sublime. There seemed no way he could score from that position, but for the second game in a row, he did. He should be told by Curbishley that he will play in each game until the end of the season. And Freddie Sears should play along side him as well. I can see a potentially lethal partnership being formed there.

Oh, I haven’t mentioned Boa Morte yet, have I? No, thought not. Best to leave it there. Even the commentator said he thought he couldn’t be arsed.

Green 8
Ferdinand 7
Tomkins 7
McCartney 7
Neill 7
Parker 7
Noble 7
Mullins 6
Boa Morte 5
Ashton 8
Ljungberg 7
Sears 8

Why Spector Must Not Play

James Tomkins should be blooded this afternoon for his full debut. The reason? Jonathan Spector arrived on Merseyside at 2am this morning after a 14 hour journey back from the USA following an Olympic qualifying match. Whenever Lucas Neill has arrived after an international he has gone on to have an absolute stinker. Curbishley should avoid playing Jonathan Spector if at all possible.

Everton: I Wish I Could Say I am Optimistic!

Against West Ham, Everton have won more matches (13), gained more points (45) and scored more goals (44) than against any other club, according to the Premier League. And that’s why I am not very optimistic about tomorrow! Mind you, they can’t be all that good if they lost to Fulham last week.

I imagine Curbishley will keep the same starting eleven that started against Blackburn. I’d love to see Freddie Sears start, but maybe it is best to keep him on the bench for a bit and let him finish the last twenty minutes or so of each game.

Luis Boa Morte is available for selection again. I shall refrain from further comment.

The England Squad

So, there are two questions to be answered today. Will Mark Noble be in the England squad? And the second one is: why isn’t Robert Green in it?

Curbishley is the Key to Nani’s Success

So the much heralded appointment of a new technical director at West Ham has finally come to pass. Gianluca Nani is to take on the rule from June 1st according to a club statement today. This is not quite the new venture it appears. In reality it was the role Ron Greenwood took on as General Manager after John Lyall took over in 1974. Alan Curbishley seems to have been fully involved in the appointment and he is the lynchpin here. If he is positive about the role it can work. If he views it has having someone looking over his shoulder all the time, it won’t. It really is as simple as that. I think the Board were looking for a half glass full merchant to provide a bit of optimism in the camp. Curbishley’s hang dog expression does not go down well with some members of the board.

So what do you think Nani will bring to the club? What should his main priorities be?

Curbs: Youngsters Will Stay in Contention

I’ve just been watching Alan Curbishley’s post match press conference. His most interesting comment was to say that Sears, Tomkins and Collison will be in and around the team for the rest of the season. He said about Freddie Sears: “I’m going to give him a bit of a run”. Excellent. Freddie Sears certainly gave me a tonic yesterday when I was coughing my guts up at home! It will be interesting to see what he does against Everton. My bet is that Freddie Sears will start, alongside Dean Ashton. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if James Tomkins got a look in in the first team in the next two or three matches.

Blackburn Preview

I’m afraid I won’t be at Upton Park this afternoon. I can’t remember the last time I missed a game through illness, but for the last few days I have had a stinker of a cold. I thought it was going yesterday.but my head is throbbing ten to the dozen at the moment. Anyway, enough of my woes, what about the woes of our team. There will be those who think that anything better than a 4-0 tonking will be a result. Wrong. We need to put on a good display today and go for a clear win. Away with 4-5-1, let’s go for it. Boa Morte is out through suspension, thank God so I would have thought Ljungberg will play down the left with Solano on the right. I hope Noble comes in to play with Parker in the centre of midfield and that Ashton and Zamora start together up front. I’m not sure if Upson is still out, but it is to be assumed that Spector will fill in again despite his horrors last time out. personally, I’d like to see Neill rested and Pantsil given a chance. He’s obviously gagging for it. Here’s my expected team…

Green, Upson, Ferdinand, McCartney, Neill, Solano, Ljungberg, Noble, Parker, Zamora, Ashton. Subs: Wright, Mullins, Tomkins, Cole, Sears.

UPDATE: The Sun reports that Anton is out for three weeks with ankle ligament damage. They suggest that Lucas Neill will move to central defence with Pantsil replacing him on the right. The other alternative would be to play James Tomkins.

My West Ham: Pete May

Pete May is the author of IRONS IN THE SOUL, HAMMERS IN THE HEART and was a regular contributor to the fanzine FORTUNES ALWAYS HIDING. His new book THERE’S A HIPPO IN MY CISTERN (Collins) is out on June 2

How did you become a Hammer?
My dad and I toured around various London clubs when I became interested in the beautiful game, age 11. We tried Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea. There was a brief flirtation with Manchester United because of George Best, but West Ham was the closest team to Upminster station and seemed somehow special. Must have been all those lab coats and high-leg DM boots on the North Bank that did it.

Your first game?
It was West Ham v Blackpool on October 31 1970. We won 2-1 and John McDowell was making his debut. We’d just shifted Martin Peters to Spurs and acquired some old drunk called Greavesie in exchange, although even when an alcoholic he still scored more than Carlton and Luis up front. Back then the band played on the pitch before the game and Hammer used words like ‘custodian’, ‘axiom’ and ‘kudos’.

How many games do you get to?
I’m a season ticket holder in the East Stand and I’ve been to Coventry and Arsenal away this season. Would have been away more but for book writing commitments.

Most memorable moment?
So many. Di Canio’s histrionics in the 5-4 home win against Bradford take some beating. I was at the 1975 FA Cup final and in 1980 I travelled down from Lancaster University and managed to get a ticket for a fiver from a fellow fan to see us beat Arsenal at Wembley. The play-off final against Preston was unforgettable because we’d sold half the England team and somehow returned to the Premiership. Also the 2004 play-off semi-final against Ipswich, Tevez diving into the crowd against Spurs and when we beat Chelsea 1-0 with Di Canio’s goal linger as examples of just how emotive games at Upton Park can be. The 2005 FA Cup Final felt like we are a part of history in the making and I felt immensely proud that our team had helped salvage the reputation of the FA Cup, even if defeat was horrible. I won’t forget losing away to Rotherham or a 6-0 defeat on plastic at rainswept Oldham either.

Have you met any Hammers players?
Yes, I interviewed Paolo Di Canio and he was very keen to talk about Mussolini ­ which makes him quite left wing in Chigwell. ‘¹ve also interviewed Alan Pardew, Glenn Roeder, Harry Redknapp at Sportspages (who claimed not to recognise Leicester Square) and Curbs when he was at Charlton.

Favourite current player?
Robert Green, I guess, although there are no real heroes now Christian Dailly and his curly hair have gone. Bellamy might be entertaining if he’s ever fit, but we desperately need a Di Canio/Tevez-esque figure.

Describe last season. How did it affect you?
I’ve never felt lower than after the Spurs defeat. My six-year-old daughter Nell had to chide me for saying we’d lose before the Blackburn game and she was right. What followed was one of the greatest feats of escapology ever yet we got no credit for it, such was the media obsession with Tevez-gate. Being at Old Trafford was brilliant. I’ve never known tension like it.

What are your hopes for this season?
To finish tenth and get a striker who can score!

Choose your all time Hammers Eleven
Parkes
Bonds Moore (Captain) Martin, S Pearce
Di Canio, Brooking, Peters, Devonshire
Tevez Hurst
Subs: Green, Dicks, J Cole, McAvennie, B. Robson.

Tough to leave Dicksy out but I feel that Stuart Pearce was much better at controlling his aggression. The side lacks a midfield ball winner but you can’t really leave Dev, Trev or Martin Peters out. Bilic would also be close to making the subs bench as would Cottee.

What do your colleagues make of your support for West Ham
There seem to be numerous Hammers fans in the media. Lasagne-quaffing Spurs fans are the worse for taunting.

When you’re reporting on West Ham games how difficult is it to be objective?
Impossible. I could never be a full-time match reporter because it would mean missing watching the Irons.

Complete this sentence: The thing I hate about West Ham is:
Our complete and utter unpredictability.

Complete this sentence: The thing I love about West Ham is:
When I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles is echoing around Upton Park and Wembley. There’s no better football song in the world.

3 x 4-0 = The Sack?

Three matches ago we had the best defensive record in the league outside the top 4. Three successive 4-0 defeats is a record no team can be proud of. To lose 4-0 to a team 8 points below us is shameful. Today we read in a Sunday newspaper that the club will replace Alan Curbishley at the end of the season. There will no doubt be cries for that to happen now after this result. But let’s not forget what he achieved last season for us. Surely to God he can turn things round now. The players at his disposal are overall far superior in quality to those who won the last seven games last year. I reckon a riot act needs reading.

But when you drop your best player to the bench (Noble) and persist with the waste of space that calls himself Luis Boa Morte you can hardly blame people if they questions your judgement, can you?

Anyway, I wasn’t there and didn’t see the match. I’m told we attacked much better, but our defence played as if they had never met each other before. What did people think, who actually saw the game?

Incentive to win: 11 Points Ahead of Spurs!

I don’t know why, but I feel quite optimistic that we will get a result at White Hart Lane this afternoon. I may well end up regretting writing that, but we’ll see. I suspect that a few changes will be rung in the team selection with Dean Ashton replacing Carlton Cole and Scott Parker possibly featuring either in the starting line-up or on the bench. Matty Upson is rated only 50-50, so expect to see Jonathan Spector come in for him. The last two results will hopefully have given everyone a wake-up call. Having reached 40 points certain players seem to have become rather complacent. Europe is still a possibility, even if not a probability now. But we certainly don’t want to let Spurs overtake us. If we win today, we’ll be 11 points ahead of them on 43 points. So, this is my expected lineup.

Green, McCartney, Neill, Upson/Spector, Ferdinand, Ljungberg, Noble, Mullins, Boa Morte, Parker, Ashton. Subs: Wright, Pantsil, Zamora, Cole, Tomkins.

Can We Get Anything from Liverpool?

I doubt whether many of us expect to get anything out of our visit to Liverpool this evening, but you never know. Apparently we haven’t won there since 1963. A point would certainly be very acceptable, particularly as a little bit of a gap is starting to open up between us and 9th place. It looks as though Faubert will be replaced by Nobby Solano. Boa Morte is likely to keep his place because Matty Etherington is still not fit. However, I expect him to play on the left of a five player midfield, with Ljungberg given a freer role to drift up to help Cole when needed. I suppose the brave move would be to drop Boa Morte and play Dean Ashton up front with Cole in a 4-4-2. We’re in a Catch 22 here because if Ashton isn’t given the games he’s never going to rediscover his form. Only by playing will he do that.

Perhaps I am being too pessimistic about tonight. After all, it was only 5 weeks ago that we beat them fair and square at Upton Park. Make that glass half full, not half empty!

Where are They Now: Marc Rieper

Marc Rieper was a solid defender and one of Harry Redknapp’s first forays into the foreign transfer market. He playedn 93 games for us, scoring five goals between 1994 and 1997, when he departed for Celtic. His partnership with Slaven Bilic was one of the best central defensive partnership’s in recent memory. Any idea what has happened to him since and what he’s doing now?

What Price Mark Noble?

This week’s News of the World is touting Mark Noble as a replacement for Flamini at Arsenal. The Gunners apparently considered an approach for Noble in the last transfer window, says the article. We shouldn’t be surprised that Nobes is attracting attention. Even though he’s not the finished article yet, it’s clear that he is going to be one of the best midfielders in the country. I fully expect him to make the England squad within twelve months. Arsenal apparently value him at £8 million.

Mark Noble is West Ham born and bred. It’s now up to the club to make it clear to him that they intend to build a side ready to challenge for honours, and that they will build the squad around him. If his head was turned by a move to one of the big four, it would be a tragedy. If that is not to happen he needs to be confident about the club’s ambition. It still breaks my heart to think what might have been if we had been able to hold onto James, Sinclair, Cole, Carrick, Lampard, Kanoute, Di Canio, Johnson and Defoe. Best not to go there.

A Word About Swearing & Politeness, if you Please…

One of the good things about this blog is that generally the debates in the comments are good natured and polite. However, I have noticed an increase in swearing lately. Just a reminder that if you swear in your comment it probably won’t get posted. Quite a few kids under 16 read this blog and also, if there’s a swear word in the post, it doesn’t get onto the NewsNow West Ham page.

Also, this is a West Ham blog for West Ham fans. If you are from another club and wish to slag us off or insult us, you won;t be doing it here. I have comment moderation on and every comment has to be approved. It’s my blog and you’re here at my invitation.

Did Lampard Deserve To Be Sent Off?

Frankly I don’t care. The fact is he went, and it was as if Upton Park experienced a collective euphoric orgasm. Three goals down? Who cares. Lampard off? Yes, yes, yes! However, the fact of the matter is, it was a bit of a dodgy one. Millwall-supporting Sunday Times columnist Rod Liddle has a rib-tickling take on it in his column today.

IT WAS an enormous pleasure to see Frank Lampard sent off in Chelsea’s game against West Ham yesterday. That’s because I don’t like him. I don’t like his perpetually put-upon expression, nor his apparent conviction that he is a sort of magical amalgam of Garrincha, Bobby Charlton and Franz Beckenbauer, when actually he’s Jimmy Bullard with an only slightly better haircut.

I hate it when he looks aggrieved during England games at Wembley, just after a shot of his ends up somewhere near Southall, as if fate had cruelly intervened to deflect a brilliant goalbound effort towards the North Circular and none of it is his fault at all or the consequence of him being not very good.

I hate those postmatch conferences where he explains how well he has played when England have been beaten at home by the Maldives. So seeing him sent off is always an enormous pleasure, especially – and this is the point – when the decision is utterly unjustified, as it was against West Ham. Then, the pleasure is enhanced because Lampard is forced to find an even greater depth of grief in his facial expression, because he has been genuinely hard done by.

Chronic and preferably cruel injustice is a much underestimated attraction in football. It’s one of the reasons I never want cameras on the goalline; goals are fun and exciting, of course, but they are not so much fun as the cretin of a referee, acting under FA orders, who makes a monumentally absurd decision…

The Lampard business was truly mystifying; he tangled, briefly, and without great effect, with Luis Boa Morte (no angel, mark you) – both of them on the ground – and then had the temerity to push the bloke away, having received a bit of a kick. At which point the red card was airily wafted in his general direction. Now, cackle though I did, I could see that it was a consummately unjust sending-off. In a way, this made me laugh all the more.

UPDATE: To all the Chelsea brain dead idiots who are trying to hijack the comments on this thread, don’t bother. Your comments won’t be posted. This is a West Ham blog. Go and post your filth elsewhere.

Chelsea Afterthoughts

I really thought we could get something from this game. It shows how wrong you can be. Three soft goals in five minutes and it was all over. Up to then we had been at the races, although never really threatening. I suppose can all be self indulgent and look back at the Lampard sending off as being worth a heavy defeat, but we all know in our heads that such thoughts are madness. Three points would have put us among the European contenders. We’re now dropping a little behind, although it is comforting to see that we are 8 points clear of the eleventh place club, Tottenham.

So what went wrong against Chelsea? Simple. The first three goals. We were never going to come back from that, although it would have been nice to get a consolation goal. I was praying Dean Ashton could have grabbed one when he came on as a sub for the totally ineffective Luis Boa Morte. It wasn’t to be, although I did think Ashton looked a lot sharper than he has seemed recently. I think it’s now the time to give him a run of games. He needs his confidence back for next season and the only way that is going to happen is for him to play regularly. Yet again Carlton Cole was our best player. It’s a shame he just can’t put away a few more goals as his build up play and holding up of the ball are increasingly superb. Hem was very unlucky not to score yesterday.

The midfield were disappointing yesterday and failed to impose themselves. Faubert in particular did little to impress, and looked knackered in the middle of the second half. Ljungberg had a few good runs but that was it. Mark Noble has his weakest game for some time and his distribution was very poor. Mullins went on a few good runs, but that was it. In defence, apart from the goals (!) they seemed quite strong, but you just cannot give away goals like that. The Joe Cole goal was especially unforgiveable.

Was it a penalty? I didn’t think so. I thought the ball was almost out of play before the Chelsea player went down, but I was a long way away from it. Everyone around me felt it was cast iron penalty.

It was good to see Bobby Z get a few minutes. He didn’t really do anything but it would have done him the world of good.

Green 6
Ferdinand 6
Upson 7
McCartney 6
Neill 6
Faubert 5
Mullins 6
Noble 5
Ljungberg 7
Cole 8
Boa Morte 4

I think we just have to put this down as a bad day at the office and move on to think about the Liverpool game on Wednesday. I’d ring a few changes and play 4-5-1, bringing in Nobby Solano in place of Julien Faubert and Lee Bowyer (is he fit?) to play with Mullins and Noble in central midfield.