Draw Specialists. Swansea away.

Image sourced from ITV.com

So another draw means another point! That, I think, is the silver lining to be taken from the weekend. That and the fact that it's another week over and done with without being able to use the players that we have unfortunately lost due to our horrific injury luck.

The dark cloud of the situation? Well, where to begin?

I have enjoyed Bilic's management so far, he's a sensible manager, but I fear that too much of the Allardyce mentality has crept back into the minds of the players who played under him last season. You can see from the behaviour and gestures from the touchline that Bilic wants his team to play a pressing & attacking game. The extravagant waving of the arms in a forward direction would've been mirroring what every one of us fans were thinking during the game. Why were our entire team sitting so deep & inviting Swansea to play? The way West Ham played in the first 25-30 minutes of the game was as if we'd been walking out to play against Barcelona or something! That's what the players made it look like anyway. After roughly 30 minutes of the game, SkySports mentioned the fact that we had only 60-something passes of the ball... Swansea had around 300! The possession suggests that this fact continued throughout the game. 

Watching the game really did feel like watching an 'Allardyce West Ham'. Yes, there were the good aspects but on the whole, it was boring. And the longer the game continued, the more and more likely we felt that in the typical 'West Ham way', we would concede and lose the game 1-0. That's what I suggested to my friends while watching anyway. 

The starting line-up did confuse me too. Why? Why start Nikica Jelavic up front, on his own? Jelavic had a great spell playing at Everton, and I will admit that I did wonder why a team like Everton who were, at the time, trying to break into the top 4 bought a striker from the Scottish league. The Scottish league is typically seen by English fans as a lower standard than the Premier League and in my opinion, rightly so. I would like to say that I enjoyed watching the games played in that league, but in all honesty, I only ever went out of my way to watch one game. The Old Firm. So typically Jelavic was seen as a player who should be looked at by a Championship side but, to his credit, he worked hard and looked like a player who could really make a difference in the Premier League with Everton. For a a short time anyway. So once Jelavic had completed his spiral in England, he managed to work his way to Hull where he still was struggling to make an impact, even in the Championship! So when Slaven Bilic made him a West Ham player in the summer, personally, I felt as if we had taken a huge step backwards after making the wise decision to not re-sign Carlton Cole, again! Jelavic looks to me as the type of player who would work best in a front two pairing with the likes of a Jermaine Defoe type player. But on his own? He didn't look like he could even out-muscle Defoe. I would've rathered Bilic play Valencia as a wide player of the front three with Zaraté in the middle and Antonio on the other side. The three would undoubtedly swap around just like they did when we had Moses, Lanzini and Payet playing behind Sakho, but unfortunately I don't think they'd be as effective. But then again, what's to say they wouldn't be? But we won't find out any time soon as the game seems to change far too much from what we saw in the beginning of the season when either Carroll or Jelavic are on the field.

Set pieces. Again. Zaraté, as much as I rate him as a player, cannot take a decent set piece. Any corner I can remember seeing from Zaraté didn't make it past either the first man, or the edge of the 6-yard box! Valencia too. And what was with those two corners that he looked like he'd taken a shot towards the front post? Both corners in the space of 90 seconds, wasted. More practice needed back at Rush Green I think!

Image sourced from Fox Sports

My final complaint about the game was the substitution which brought on Carl Jenkinson. Bilic made the correct decision to leave Jenkinson out of the game against Stoke and we played well in that game with Tomkins at right-back again. This weekend he didn't look as solid or comfortable, but still we didn't concede. But to bring him on with such a short time left in the game when he could've brought on the likes of Reece Oxford to get him back into the swing of things after being run ragged in the game against Leicester, or even Josh Cullen to set him up on his way to the big stage (if previous reports on him are to be believed, he is sure to be something special). But Bilic's decision to bring on Jenkinson just frustrated me personally. And his first contribution to the game? Making a pathetic excuse of a tackle and earning the game's first yellow card. And then to pick the ball up and start arguing with the Swansea player, Taylor I think it was, was just ridiculous. He's a player out of form, low on confidence and whatever it takes to get him back to the player he was last season needs to be done!

Moaning out of the way and all in all, it was a point. We're sitting 8th position going into Christmas Day, not the dizzy heights we were enjoying last season, but it's solid and we've been missing some key influential players for several games now. And we're also still only 4 points off 4th place! Tottenham won't keep playing well for too long and Manchester United, if they don't sack Van Gaal, will be there for the taking when they come to Upton Park for the final time and I would love to see a repeat of 'that' 4-0 cup win against them under the lights!

Next up, Aston Villa on Boxing Day. Another team who are definitely there for the taking & I think that our boys will make us proud and return to winning ways to keep our Christmas celebrations going for a few days longer. My prediction was a mile off this weekend, so for Boxing Day I'm hoping for an away win, we have the players to overpower the worst side I've ever seen in the Premier League, even with the injuries! But saying that, we'll lose in typical fashion. But I'm going to stay optimistic. 0-3 to the Cockney Boys!

Thank you all for reading! Leave some feedback & share the link with your friends, family, colleagues, any West Ham fan you know!

Gritty Stoke City

Image sourced from the Independent

Well, there are 0-0's and there are 0-0's. The difference? Saturday's game was completely different to the 0-0 draws I have seen at the Boleyn before now & was actually rather entertaining! The unfortunate part of the game for us was when we all eventually realised that Butland was not in the mood to be beaten. If this lad takes the No. 1 shirt from Joe Hart for this summer's European Championships, I really wouldn't be surprised, but I also wouldn't be too unhappy! Personally, I'm not a great fan of Hart. It's the way his personality comes across & I think he looks incredibly arrogant. Anyway, I'm straying from the point.

And a point is all we could've hoped for really before the game started, wasn't it? Stoke in the previous game had not only beaten Man City, they embarrassed them! Watching Stoke play in that game was a pleasure, and there's not many times anyone can say that about Stoke City. There's a typical scowl on the face of anyone who isn't a Stoke fan whenever they have to mention the club's name. This is probably because of the stereotyping that 90% of us are guilty of, but these are different times for the team now they've stepped out of the 'dirty, hoof-ball, Tony Pulis' shadow. Quite the same can be said for both of our teams actually, as a 0-0 draw last season under Big Sam would've been nothing like our game at the weekend.

Bilic showed some sense on Saturday too, he dropped Carl Jenkinson. Now this isn't a personal hate vendetta towards the lad at all, I just think he needs to be shown that he's not an instant 1st team starter every week just because his parent club is Arsenal. We could have any top player on loan at our club & if they're not playing well, it doesn't matter who they are or where they come from, they need to know it's not an automatic selection. What has made Bilic's next decision even harder? The fact that any game James Tomkins has filled in at right-back, you'd think he's a natural full back! Yes, okay his positioning sometimes isn't perfect, but for a centre-back who has played as well as he has done consistently (in my opinion) this season, he's done exactly what is asked of a player when they pull on the claret and blue shirt and that is to give everything you have for West Ham for however long you're on the pitch. In my opinion, I wouldn't let Jenkinson back into the team for our game at Swansea. I would allow Tomkins the right to continue in the side at right-back until he eventually does have a bad game, although the problem then would be, what if Tomkins gets fed up of not being able to play in his own position? That's just another headache for Slaven to have if that specific situation does occur, we're just here to cheer the boys when they're doing well & enjoy watching.

Image sourced from 90min.com

And that's exactly what I did on Saturday, enjoyed the game! Yes, okay it was only 0-0. No, we didn't score from any of the 24 attempts on goal, 10 of those were on target though by the way! Another game where we have also been awarded a host of corners, 11 in fact, but since the loss of Dimitri Payet I have not seen a decent corner delivery! Noble seemed to have lost the privilege of taking set pieces as soon as Dimitri arrived, and even on Saturday the duty seemed to have been taken over by Mauro Zaraté. But wow, how can a professional footballer not seem to be able to beat the first man when taking a corner?

I'm not a great footballer myself, but come on, even I can take a decent corner!

Way off the mark to compare a Saturday morning park game to a Premier League clash, but the poor deliveries from corners has always been a pet hate for me. As has the development of 1-footed footballers, but again, that's for discussion another day.

Back to the game on Saturday and what a performance by Michail Antonio! I thought the lad was going to be a forgotten figure of the summer's transfer dealings due to the success of the likes of Payet, Moses and Lanzini, but as Antonio's luck (and ours as a club) would have it, all three are now missing and Saturday was his time to really shine. He did come on rather early in the game at Old Trafford and by all accounts, played very well!

Image sourced from Zimbio

My stand out player of the game though, Mauro Zaraté. His set piece delivery for the entirety of the game was utterly dreadful, but take that away and he was our star of the show. I previously mentioned in my first post that I had hoped that Mauro would be the man Slaven turns to in Payet's absence and he has done just that! Zaraté has started all games since being on the bench away to Tottenham, the game in which I honestly blame Bilic's team selection, but that's in the past. Although unlike Payet, Mauro has had little consistency in the last 3 games. His outstanding goal and performance against West Brom has everyone wondering why the hell Big Sam didn't want the guy around the team. Then away to Man Utd & the chance to score from around 8 yards to create history for the team... Wide! And then on Saturday he was on the rampage again, his skills and technique are up there with some of the best in the league when he's on form. Any dangerous attack from West Ham at the weekend came through Zaraté but unfortunately for us all, Stoke had an in-form Jack Butland between the sticks.

This weekend? Swansea City away. They have just sacked Gary Monk, too soon in my opinion, but then again that was my opinion when our new board at the time sacked Alan Pardew! Swansea are struggling to win and we are on a run that's neither good or bad, it's alright. Because we're not losing. Personally, I'm happy with the last couple of games and I think that we're really back on the right tracks and will only get stronger with the return of our injured players. Oh, and we really need Victor Moses to start performing again too. Doesn't it seem that everyone picks their performances up a little whenever Payet is playing? We really could do with him being back from injury soon! 

Prediction? 2-1 away win. These clean sheets can't last forever can they?


Thank you to those of you who are reading & please leave some comments with your views! I am trying to update regularly but working two jobs at the moment gets in the way a little! Shame we have to work, right? Anyway, thank you again & COYI!

We need to talk about Carl.

Image sourced from The Evening Standard

Carl Jenkinson in his first season on loan at West Ham was an instant hit. We have been crying out for two decent wide defenders for as long as I can remember, yes we had the likes of Sebastien Schemmel, Thomas Repka, Glen Johnson & Chris Powell who, despite his advancing years, was a solid left back and still played his part in some important games for West Ham. We have had some solid players at right and left back, but it seems that the pairing we managed in the 2014-15 season was our first season where we could look at the team sheet and not worry about which centre-back our manager was going to try out at right back this week. We had two solid wing-backs, but the best thing about the pair? They could both attack high up the pitch and cause the opposition trouble with their fantastic crossing abilities. Yes, both of them!

Now, I will admit, I did state towards the end of last season that in the summer, I would've personally made more effort to sign Carl Jenkinson on a permanent deal than bothering with Alex Song. Yes, I said that, and I'm deeply sorry.

Image sourced from The Daily Mail

Song is a funny player too, though. His performances when he first joined the club were nothing short of brilliant. He could keep possession of the ball when in situations you'd think it wasn't possible, he had an eye for a killer ball through to our on-running wingers, strikers or even our new wide defensive duo. Every single player on the field looked a better player when they had Song lining up with them, whether that was something they had worked on in training or if it was just a mental thing, it doesn't matter because lets face it, it worked a treat! But after the Christmas break of 2014, Alex Song didn't return as the same player. After Christmas and New Year Song looked completely uninterested, lazy & could barely complete a pass accurately over 20 yards, let alone the 40/50 yard ones he was pinging directly into a teammate's path only a few months previous. So on the performances over the whole season, I admitted that I would've preferred Jenkinson over Song due to the consistency over the duration of a whole season.

So you could imagine my disappointment on the 14th July 2015 when we did manage to re-sign Carl Jenkinson, on loan. On loan for another season? Arsene, you're not going to play the lad so why not cash in now? Wenger had managed to pull off quite a tactical piece of business with this deal as we're paying a £2 million loan fee for Jenkinson. Why not slap another £8-10 million on top and keep him permanently, I thought. Well, how my statement from the previous season came back to bite me, and it didn't take Carl very long to prove me wrong either. He couldn't play in the game against Arsenal, so even though Tomkins had an outstanding game at right back, Jenkinson was put straight back into the team versus Leicester, the game in which he finished in goal. The problem with Carl started here, he didn't have a poor game, nor did he stand out, the problem with Carl all began in our next home game against Bournemouth. Yes, yes, yes, I know what most will think when remembering this game. "It was Cresswell who gifted them two goals!". And people remembering that will be correct, I think both wing-backs had a shocker in this game, but the difference? Cresswell put the game behind him immediately and has ever since continued to look like the progressing young left back we signed in the summer of 2014. But my grievance with this game was Jenkinson's performance, firstly making a schoolboy mistake in sliding in front of Marc Pugh to gift Bournemouth a 1 on 1 chance with Darren Randolph (who looked shaky the entire game to say the least) which of course, Pugh tucked away in front of the away supporters to put Bournemouth 3-2 up. But my biggest issue with Carl in this game, and it haunts me still, is the way he was the main blaming point for Bournemouth's 4th and as it ended, winning goal. The ball was a hoof from the Bournemouth defence up towards the 'chav corner' end of the stadium (I stand in this part too, so no offence intended), I vaguely remember the ball bouncing twice, but after the first bounce I had wondered why Jenkinson hadn't just seen the ball into the stands & for the time being, safety. Then the danger is realised when the ball is about to bounce for the second time, Max Gradel is like a greyhound out of the trap chasing the ball which should've been a lost cause for Bournemouth. Oh no, how wrong we were. The ball didn't manage to reach the floor before Jenkinson failed to return the ball to the original direction it had just been sent from & Gradel was in like a flash to nick the ball and get in behind. Jenkinson stood no chance in covering for his own mistake, but still managed to get back and ultimately foul Gradel to give Bournemouth a penalty and a chance to go 4-2 up in their first, and last game at Upton Park. Carl was sent off, Bournemouth scored and we got another goal late on, but this was the start of Jenkinson's stuttering season so far.

Image sourced from the Mirror

Jenkinson returned against Newcastle after Ogbonna was forced off with an injury, he also started the game away at Man City which was a fantastic day for everybody, but ever since that day he has looked incredibly shaky and is currently blowing very hot and cold. The trouble I have with Jenkinson is the way that he looks like such a different player from last season. Why does he instantly look to go backwards and stop any kind of attack? Under Bilic and not Allardyce, you'd think that the encouragement would be there for the full-backs to continue an attack and play the ball sideways or forwards. Yes, there is possession to play for, and possession means goals. Or so thought the likes of Swansea and Arsenal. I'm sorry, but that's not West Ham, we've never been a typically boring side who end the game with the most possession. And for me, that's exactly what watching the likes of Swansea or Arsenal is like, or even Manchester United more recently, boring!

Jenkinson's forward passing this year has been poor and aimless. His crossing has been non existent too! Okay, he only managed two assists last season, and I guess he's weighed in with that same amount of goals this time around, but we managed to see a lot more of his accurate crossing last season. All I think I've seen from the lad so far is a run to the byline and fail to whip the ball in! He was, in my opinion, the worst player on the pitch in the dreadful game against Tottenham and didn't really improve a great deal in the game at home to West Brom. Whether or not he was injured prior to the game against Man Utd, he started on the bench and only came on with a few minutes to go in a defensive move made by Bilic, coming on for Mauro Zaraté. 

The lad showed everybody what he's capable of last season, he was even called up to the Under 21's summer tournament (maybe just because he's an Arsenal player?). He looks lost, and not even the shadow of himself from last season under Big Sam. Is he lacking confidence? Does he not want to be at the club? Or is he just having 'one of those patches'? Whatever it is, I for one would love to see the Carl Jenkinson from last season return.


Guys & girls; if you have any comments to make, if you agree with my opinions or completely think the opposite? Leave a comment, tell me what you think. Also, any feedback anyone has on any tips or techniques for blogging? Any suggestions in which way I could improve on my writing? Again, leave a comment & let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!

Played 15: Won 6. Drawn 5. Lost 4.

December 8th 2015, points gained? 23.

Now where do we start? Positives? Negatives? Well, let's look at the fixture list and remember how it looked on 17th June 2015. Remember the sinking feeling as a West Ham fan when all eager in anticipation for the new season, a new start, a new manager, new optimism... All to be greeted with the first three away games of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.

Personally, on the morning of the fixtures release for the 2015/16 season, I can't be alone in looking at the newly released list and wondering how many points we would be able to accumulate from the home games, the 'easy' games.

How wrong. How very wrong. The Europa League saw us disappear in a puff of smoke as if by magic. It was so quick and left us all in a slight daze, we all had the same questions. The main one... Why? Great question at the time. Although, looking back now I think the way we allowed ourselves to leave the competition was a smart piece of tactical play by our new 'fan's choice' manager, Slaven Bilic. 

Image sourced from The Telegraph

The Europa League Qualifying rounds are hardly worth mentioning anymore, but they did give the squad a solid pre-season. The squad had a great chance to prove who was worthy & who, pretty much, didn't stand a chance. Players used in the pre-season such as Joey O'Brien and Elliott Lee have seen minimal first team action at all this season due to the high calibre of personnel available to Bilic. It's hard to see if Lee will ever crack the first team, he has also recently joined Blackpool on loan, again playing in League Two (the division he failed to make an impact upon last season) and O'Brien is simply an Allardyce last resort in dire times of need (thankfully, not experienced yet in this season). Reece Burke left to gain some valuable first team experience with League One side Bradford City and Diego Poyet attracted the attention of Championship Side, Milton Keynes Dons. The 'dead wood' was also removed between the final day of the 14/15 season and the end of the transfer window; Carlton Cole, Kevin Nolan, Modibo Maiga, Guy Demel and Matthew Jarvis (on loan to Norwich City, but at least he can't keep moaning about lack of chances). Matthew Jarvis is an exceptional case, but I will cover that soon. 

Into the squad came; Angelo Ogbonna, Stephen Hendrie (finally), Pedro Obiang, Victor Moses, Manuel Lanzini and of course, the marquee signing of the summer, Mr Dimitri Payet. Some very smart business conducted by Davids Gold & Sullivan, Slaven Bilic and the rest of the backroom staff who made the transfers possible. Alex Song & Carl Jenkinson also arrived back at the club where they spent the 14/15 season on loan. Carl Jenkinson is another curious case which will be covered another day, but how can a player look so impressive in one season and then look the complete opposite the next? Again, a discussion to be had another time.

So, August 8th 2015, Saturday has finally arrived and football, is back. Of course West Ham fans are still kept waiting for the inevitable first day humiliation away at the Emirates Stadium due to Sky Sports fixture interference. Arsenal have only brought in one player thus far, but what a player to bring in, Petr Cech, the Chelsea 'keeper made the trip across London and had given Arsenal fans hope of 'the extra 12 points a season' he would 'guarantee'. They were also still hoping for the one huge piece of business from Arsene Wenger, a striker (they're still waiting).

The opening day results didn't throw out too many shocks or surprises; Manchester United and City both won, Sunderland are still useless, Liverpool won and Swansea are still proving difficult to beat by holding Chelsea to a 2-2 draw.

Fast forward to the 9th August, match day has arrived for the loyal Claret and Blue Army. Turning up in the thousands that is now an expected scene at away games for West Ham, the sea of away supporters entered the turnstiles, not expecting a win, but hoping the lads could come away with a 'sneaky' 0-0 or 1-1 draw. Far from it, lads, far from it. A 2-0 win and we're in dreamland after the first weekend. Home defeats to Bournemouth and Leicester were a tough pill to swallow, and then we come to our game at Anfield. The usual "50-odd years" comments about how long it has been since we won a game there. 1963 to be exact, 52 years. And what a day for the away side once again, West Ham were underway within just 5 minutes, Manuel Lanzini pressing the defender into a mistake, not giving up on the cause (I find it hard to believe that a team playing under Sam Allardyce & fielding players such as Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole would've given that much commitment) scored on the 3 minute mark to set the boys on their way to a well deserved 3-0 away win to wipe the slate clean at Anfield. Lets hope we don't have to wait that long for the next one now they're playing so much better under Jurgen Klopp!

Image sourced from The Daily Star

Winning ways were fully resumed at Upton Park for the next game, a hopeless Newcastle side held us to only 2-0, but what a night under the lights. Attacking, end to end football, the best chances falling to, and being taken, by West Ham. It's as if Dimitri Payet's excellence and class was made to be exhibited on nights like this, using the floodlights as his own personal spotlight to showcase exactly what an incredible player he is.

Next? Manchester City. Now, Manchester City are a club with incredible supporters, yes they have gained the extra 'fans' due to the increasing success of the club, but prior to the money, they were very much a club like our own. The fans wouldn't ever have much to enjoy, though they still continued to offer their fantastic support to the team, home and away. West Ham hadn't ever beaten City at the Etihad in the Premier League, we all remember that special night in the FA Cup when Dean Ashton scored 'that goal' to send us to the semi-final! But still no win in the Premier League and only a little under 2 years since the horrific 6-0 League Cup 'surrender', there we were again, a new West Ham. Lining up in this season's all-navy third kit, they newly crowned 'away day specialists' did us proud once again, taking the lead away from home yet again, a stunning Victor Moses drive from over 20 yards out, beat Joe Hart and found the bottom right-hand corner. Diafra Sakho scored once again to secure the three points and ensure that Kevin De Bruyne's strike counted for nothing, West Ham had done it away from home once again, 2-1 and sitting pretty in the Premier League table.

In the following weeks, we struggled to maintain the winning form that we'd started to become accustomed to and couldn't beat Norwich at home, nor Sunderland away, both games ending 2-2 and quite frustratingly so. At least we have what we asked for; 'The West Ham way' is up and running once again! Beating the teams dominating in the league and then struggling to beat the teams around or below us in the table.

Crystal Palace away and Chelsea at home were much more like the team we had started to see in the beginning of the season. A magnificent display from Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini at Palace & the whole team's committed performance at home to Chelsea made up for the two dithering draws.

Image sourced from squawka.com

Watford away? Let's forget that one. Andy Carroll, please don't EVER attempt a Cruyff turn in your own 18 yard box again! Everton at the Boleyn next. Lukaku again. How will we ever stop this man from scoring against us? Seven goals in his last seven games and he doesn't look like stopping! Never mind, we didn't lose, which I was expecting and Lanzini's goal was possibly the best of the season so far. Tottenham away is also another day worth forgetting. What a miserable birthday I had this year! But again, Lanzini is still at it, another goal, very well taken at that, but unfortunately counted for nothing other than his own record.

November coming to an end and we face West Brom at Upton Park. Arriving at the ground remembering the shambolic performance we gave in the FA Cup at the Hawthorns last season under Allardyce, what a horrible day that was. But we're a different team now, I thought. We've got a better manager now, I thought. Well, the first half was brilliantly crafted football, slick passing, ambitious attempts at goal and only one goal to shout about at the break. But what a goal it was! "Upper 90's" is the phrase I've heard before now and that's exactly where Mauro Zaraté curled this free kick, opposite side to Lanzini's wonderfully placed effort against Everton, but equally out of any goalkeeper's reach, even the best goalkeeper in the world would've struggled to stop either goal from hitting the back of the net! But, as the 'West Ham way' has well and truly returned to grace us in the final season at the Boleyn, the boys made it difficult for themselves in the second half. Of course a team managed by Tony Pulis were never going to be planning calmly in the dressing room at half time over a cuppa! Their first half performance was well below par, so the second half was bound to be all West Brom. As predicted, they piled on the pressure & Ricky Lambert's shot was turned in very unfortunately by Winston Reid's arm it seemed. But again, at least we didn't lose, and we have stopped the rot for the second time in the same month, but still no win.

Image sourced from the BBC

Manchester United away was on the agenda last weekend. West Ham were aiming to become the first side in the Premier League to beat Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United away all in the same season. Man Utd haven't been looking like the team they should be, Van Gaal has boarded up the home goal, but they also aren't scoring and 'superstar' Wayne Rooney hasn't looked the player who was supposedly being looked at by Europe's top teams not so long ago. Lots of great chances fell to both sides who, on another day, would've put them all away and the game would've ended at any scoreline. As lady luck would have it, we were fortunate enough that the home side couldn't hit a barn door. Lucky really as our strikers were looking like they had the same sort of luck!

We face Stoke at home on Saturday. Not a team we would like to be facing with our injury list now boasting; Payet, Lanzini, Moses & Sakho. Three players who would be in the starting line-up immediately if they were fit. Stoke also made Manchester City look stupid in the early kick off last weekend, so if they fancy turning on the style again, be prepared to see a very 'Allardyce-looking' West Ham. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm quite worried about this game. I really do rate Zaraté, and as soon as the duration of the Payet injury was announced, I was immediately hopeful that Zaraté would be the man Bilic chose to cover for him. I just fear that Payet's consistency was all too much to take for the fans because we don't really have any other player who has 100% performances week in, week out. Okay, maybe Lanzini, but he's now on the injury table for SIX WEEKS!! Wow, how's your luck West Ham? Just beginning to look like a side ready to crack the top 6 and really make a go for it and then we lose 4 influential players.

Prove me wrong, West Ham. Please go out there and hit a few past Stoke and bring them back down to earth with a bump! Also, the atmosphere at home to West Brom was diabolical! This isn't the Upton Park I have grown to love, it's down to us, the fans to make this final season special! 

Prediction? Bore draw. 0-0.   Prove me wrong boys, please.




This entry was very long, purely because it was something I have been wanting to do, but never did because I thought nobody other than myself would be interested. But I shall be continuing the blog & offering my opinions on the games, the club, transfers, and possibly other topics depending how many people read this. Let me know what you think if you've found my blog & what you think I could add or do differently, your feedback will be appreciated! Also, let me know where you're reading from! Will be nice to know how far across the globe I can reach! Also, a possible YouTube channel to come... Depending on the success of the blog.

Thanks for reading! #COYI