West Ham United v Man City - here's hopeful

So today West Ham take on the big spenders of Man City, I don't usually blog on this stuff but after two blogs in a week I'm on a roll!!

I for one am slightly hopeful that we could get a favourable result today.  We really need a win and I think, if we play like we did when we beat Man Utd 4-0, that we will beat them.  They are without Tevez, which in one sense is a shame because it would have been good to see him back at Boleyn Ground and to hear the crowd roar for him, but on the other hand, really pleased because I know it weakens their side.

I see that Behrami could feature today, but strangely, I do hope that Spector gets another chance in midfield.

Whilst I do love the football and have an air of expectation for today, it's great to know that my life does not depend on the result today, or any other football result come to that.  Jesus rules and my life is firstly all about being a follower of him, then a great husband, then the best daddy that I can be, then doing all I can to pastor RFC with love and care and then being a son and brother.  After all that and only then comes being a supporter of WHUFC.  That said, when it comes to football, there is no other team for me - 29 years on now and counting!

Thoughts on the transfer window and football finance

So transfer deadline day came and went, the international season kicks off this weekend and the Premiership is in full swing. Football has definitely finished it's Summer Vacation! Who would have thought that in the midst of a recession, the crazy football world still manages to spend £450, 000, 000 on new players. The merry-go-round has been even stranger this year with Man City choosing to buy proven premiership players from other premiership clubs, with the likes of Arsenal and Man Utd not exempt from the lure of their money (although granted, Man Utd didn't get a penny from the Tevez deal as he still belonged to a third party!)

As we see all this happening we hear of Portsmouth who so very nearly went under and of course my West Ham who, according to the government, made a loss of £32, 000, 000 in the last year. They also managed to stave off collapse only because of the generousness of banks in not recalling all the debt due to late payments.

I'm sure these two clubs are not the only two in this situation in the top flight. Now I think both will come through it and will be okay, but surely the money thing has to stop and grass roots players will need to come through. I am proud of West Ham in the fact that it still develops and PLAYS, young talent that comes through the ranks. They take kids from around the area (and a few from other areas and abroad, but predominantly locals) and Tony Carr turns them into decent young footballers. He did it with the likes of Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Glenn Johnson, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe (from age 15, Charlton before that!), and Michael Carrick all of whom now play for the England first team. Add to that the promising youngsters now of James Tomkins, Freddie Sears, Junior Stanislas, Josh Payne, Jack Collison and of course Mark Noble, and you have a fairly good side.

Will West Ham ever challenge for major honours, probably not, because to balance the empty books they will inevitably have to sell some of our better players at some point, however I for one, in this crazy messed up world of football finance, hope that we continue to be a team that relies on it's youth policy more than they do their transfer policy and that we develop homegrown talent rather than buying in players with big names and big wage demands. We tried that a couple of years ago and look where that got us - in the red big time!! The England team will continue to flourish as long as we keep producing!!!

Saddened and disappointed

As a West Ham fan of many years I am saddened and disappointed by the events that transpired outside and inside the ground last night. To see the people running onto the pitch was sheer lunacy, middle aged guys as well as teenagers just letting emotion run wild and not thinking about the consequences After all the trouble and negative press West Ham United has had to deal with through the Tevez affair, the banking collapse in Iceland and the constant rumours of us having to sell our best players to balance the books - what were these so called fans of this great East London club thinking of?

In what world does hooliganism on any scale seem right? That world is the world we live in. Somehow the bitter rivalry between the two teams 'firms' was such that they didn't spare a thought for the actual reason that the two sets of fans would be at the ground - a football match. These guys were not interested in football and cannot call themselves followers of football. You are not a more passionate supporter if you fight with the oppositions supporters or invade the pitch - why, because you bring the club into disrepute. You show no affection to the club whatsoever.

Hooliganism is selfish and shows one of the ugliest sides of our sinful nature. The sheer tribalism that these men would more than likely have shouted off about when the Kenyan elections went so disastrously wrong, is exactly what they are involved in. Only this could be deemed as even more mindless as they were just rioting for rioting sake, not to try to seize power or demand that things are done fairly.

Men ranging from early teems to mid fifties, becoming like our barbarian ancestors all in the name of a sport that condemns it. Actually our country has not only condemned it, but has also become the world leader in tackling it. My guess would be that most of those involved in last nights trouble would have been those who had previously be banned from grounds for many years, rearing up only because it is Millwall against West Ham.

As you can see this has struck a nerve with me. I hate the fact that football hooliganism happens at all, but when it happens at my club, it frustrates me. Two young lads who have been brought through the academy at West Ham played their hearts out last night and scored the goals that saw the team through to the next round of the cup. That will not be remembered. A great last breath comeback which wold have been hailed as a great achievement in different circumstances, will not be reported on. Only the actions of these mindless few who heap slander on all football fans. I pray that we will not see scenes like these again and pray that justice will be served.

Christs light is the only thing that will serve to transform the lives of men who are otherwise determined to damage each other all in the name of football, but actually it's in the name of violence and hatred. The rage shown last night makes me resolve in my heart all the more to stay hidden in Christ and endeavour to constantly choose to put off my old self and clothe myself in the Spirit of God and the Gospel of peace.

A very good draw

It's taken a few days to sink in, but Chelsea didn't beat the Hammers!!! I thought that after the dismal effort at home against Tottenham, that Chelsea would destroy us. Especially due to the fact that Frank Lampard had sat out of the mid week game due to suspension. Instead the boys played well! Zola had them set up to nullify the attacks of Chelsea forcing them to play through the middle, so when the ball bounced out we could counter attack effectively.

The only thing that I do despair at is the fact that Carlton Cole has definitely stopped scoring again. He should have made it 2-1 on Sunday in the dieing moments but chose to shoot instead of rounding the keeper and slotting the ball in. At times we look like a very blunt hot knife cutting through butter - i.e. we get through the defence easily, but have no sharpness in front of goal.

The defence is definitely better, I hope Zola now works on attack!!!

It's almost unheard of!!!

I know three posts in a day, but hey when you see something like this it's so rare I thought I couldn't keep quiet... a positive West Ham article!!!

Read here about how Hammers fans should be patient and get behind Zola.

Irons lose again.

I can't believe that West Ham lost it in the last 10 mins today. From all that I have heard and read, the team certainly didn't deserve to get this result. It's now 1 point in 18 and still not a clean sheet in sight. Matty Upson has been stretchered off today which should only make that situation worse.

At this rate we will soon find our selves in the bottom three and fighting a relegation battle. I don't know what Zola is going to be able to do, but I do hope that things start to turn around soon. We have good players, none of them great, but some good players and I just want to see them perform with consistency over 90 minutes, let alone from one week to the next.

Looks like this our down season after our good season again, but hey Come On You Irons!!!

Real joy isn't West Ham winning (there I said it!)

As I blogged on Saturday about going to see West Ham play, I couldn't have imagined the performance we would see. All things considered I don't think we could have picked a better day to go:

Zola's first game in charge;
A return to full on attacking football;
Two goals and an assist from David Di Michele (Could he become as important to us as Paolo Di Canio?);
Glorious weather;
And of course a 3-1 win!

It was easy to come away from Upton Park on Saturday feeling happy and content.

It then dawned on me as we travelled back on the tube that for many that were travelling with us, this was their life. Making the pilgrimage to the Boleyn Ground (Official name of Upton Park) in the vague hope that maybe, just maybe, life will seem better because West Ham have won. That a win for West Ham will fill the void of emptiness that every human feels when left on their own. On this occasion, all the claret and blue supporters were upbeat, people were complimentary of the players, they admired the Zola's tactics, the game was positive etc etc.

However on the same train there were also Newcastle United supporters. The faces told the tale. They didn't make small talk, their faces were blank, they appeared tired and weary with the trudge of life. I realised that regardless of the fact that West Ham had won - my joy was in another.

My Messiah is not a Kevin Keegan type icon - my Messiah is Jesus. My hope is not that we might finish in the top half of the table this year, but my hope is in the promise of eternal life and a life now that is lived in the full knowledge that my God is for me and not against me.

Off to Upton Park!!!

B and I will be leaving shortly to go and witness Zola's first game in charge of West Ham. It feels like a big adventure and one we are undertaking together. The Irons are playing against a Newcastle team that have no manager and are up for sale. It could be a memorable day for the team, but I am not holding my breath!!!

One thing is certain though and that is that B and I will have a lovely day together and we will experience this together. I love building memories with B and we have been privileged to build so many in our ten years together. It will also be Baby Taylor's first trip to a football match and BT will hear bubbles sung - apparently we should now be singing to our little one as it soothes and BT will be able to recognise the songs after birth.

So Zola it is

At least we will be guaranteed attacking football!!!

More news at Upton Park

Well after a rough couple f days at Upton Park hopefully things will start to settle down. I have just read that we have signed another player on a free transfer (makes it obvious I guess that it wasn't Curbs doing the hiring and firing as if that was in doubt anyway!). the guy is Walter Lopez, a 22 year old Uruguyan international. Never heard of him, but he is a left back so he's got to be better than no left back at all.

That said we have also signed two guys on loan - Ilunga, who is a left back currently on international duty, and Di Michelle a forward who has represented Italy at senior level. I personally think these are good signings. I have heard of both and Di Michelle even played and scored against us when playing for Palermo. It could be that we will be coached by Roberto Mancini, the former Inter Milan coach, this I believe would be an absolute coup. Other names banded around have been the return of the Pards, Donadoni and of course the legend that is Paolo Di Canio.

My choice would still be Bilic, but he is currently unavailable I hope that Mancini comes. He will be used to directors of football calling the shots and is a top class coach: it could be that PDC could be his assistant - now that would be class. Whoever comes in I hope that they recognise that we are a passionate club who would rather lose playing great football than win playing rubbish football (if you disagree with that statement, you only have to look at the way Curbs was treated by certain sections of the fans.)

Let's hope that what ever happens, the board keep their promise to take the club forward. we still have our core players even though other clubs wanted the likes of Green, Ashton and Noble. I'm going to remain optimistic and watch with baited breath to see what will happen next in the soap opera that is Upton Park.

Football's a game, Jesus is life!

Sitting in the office at 3:45 yesterday, I heard the news that Curbishley had left West Ham, he had resigned. I thought they were joking. I returned home at 6:00pm after playing badminton knowing that this was true. To be honest I was not surprised, but I must confess to being a little shocked. I have disliked immensely all the negative media attention that Curbs has ad to face in his time as our manager and to be honest I wish the man well and pray that he will find a job that will honour his capabilities and respect him for the football manager that he is.

At present it is difficult to supprt West Ham, the family club that we once were doesn't seem to be that any more. Of course I will continue to support them as to me they are the only team to support, but questions must be asked. Why is Kia Joorabchin having his say about Curbishley, he's the one that nearly took our club down in the Tevez saga and then wanted to sue us? Who will replace Curbs? I can't see Bilic coming yet; Harry will have no interest in coming; we could end up with an Italian manager! (My personal choice would be Bilic by the way.)

Of course there are far more questions, but do you know what, I am not going to dwell on it. As I have thought this through I can see that (I can't believe I am about to say this), it's only football. I do not follow the developments of Vodafone or Shell with such interest why would I, they are businesses, and to some extent that is what my football club has become. We as fans still see it as our game, but let's be honest, we are just the people that help finance it.

On the last day, I am not going to be concerned as to whether Alan Curbishley left West Ham, I am going to be totally consumed by the presence of my King. When He returns, West Ham will be no more (If it hasn't happened before then!!!) but He will remain Lord of all reigning forever. My concern in this life should not be on earthly matters as they will fade away but on Jesus, the authour and perfecter of my faith.

Of course I will continue to support West Ham and of course I will love it when they win and feel it when they lose, but I must always remember that football is a business and a game that I enjoy (or endure) looking in at, but my focus must be Jesus.

What's going on at Upton Park?!?

This is going to be a strange post considering what I wrote in my last one but: what are the West Ham board up to. we have sold Anton Ferdinand and it now looks like George McCartney is off to the same destination, Sunderland. This is rubbish. He is the only senior recognised left back and no matter what anyone says, Lucas Neill is a right back, nit a left back.

I hate the fact that we are still a selling club. I recognise we have to balance the books, but surely selling our best players is not the answer. I do hope no one else gets sold today and that we have some surprising signings, but as things are going so far, I am not holding my breath.

I know that I am going to have some forgiving to do, after all I did preach on that yesterday (link to come later). I do feel for Alan Curbishley as he is doing a great job whilst the board continue to sell off the team. I hope the press get off Curbs back and recognise where all the nonsense in our club is coming from.

Off to see the boys...

Very excited today. I get to go off to see West Ham play in their pre-season game against Southampton. I haven't seen the Irons play live for over a year. I will be travelling down with Simon and his Dad. I am looking forward to seeing the likes of Ashton and Bellamy as well as some of the youngsters, Sears, Hines, Stanislas, Reid etc. I am particularly anticipating the performance of our only senior signing of the Summer so far, Valon Behrami. He joined from Lazio a week or so ago and apparently played very well against erm... Peterborough - well you hope that he would really!!! Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how well he does against some tough championship opposition.

I don't know whether we will sign anyone else. There is talk of us loaning a keeper to cover for Rob Green, which will be useful, however we do have the young lad Marek Stech who looks like he is going to turn out to be a quality keeper. I still think we could use a striker because as good as Coley is at assists, I just don't see him weighing in with the goals to supplement Bellers and Ashton. I would love him to prove me wrong however because he seems to love playing for the club. Gutted to see that my favourite player of Euro 2008, Roman Pavyluchenko, is going to probably sign for Tottenham. Poor lad, he will probably sit on a bench and lose all credibility (Rebrov, Defoe, Bent to name but a few.)

Match report will appear here!

West Ham today...

Well as the Ronaldo to Real Madrid story continues and Ronaldinho looks to be unveiled by AC Milan, the mighty Hammers continue their rebuilding with an other 17 year old. Now this is still to be confirmed on the official site but Skysports tell me that we have signed a young Hungarian striker who has had trials with Inter Milan and Lazio - his name? Balint Bajner (pictured right). You can check out the link here if you are interested in knowing more (which is probably only if you support West Ham in any capacity!)

The other interesting thing I read today about West Ham was on the BBC. In a Summer where once again Man City spend big and the likes of Portsmouth seemingly being able to conjure money out of thin air, West Ham have had to shed some players - three so far! However when I read this article I was a little more heartened. I don't know the source but it does sound a little more encouraging than all the doom and gloom speculation that I have read already. The fact is there is a world wide financial problem and football clubs are not exempt.

Our owner is a banker and that means that if we have to shorten our wage bill due to the fact that money isn't going as far then so be it. I just hope that we keep enough of the team to at least be in the top half again this coming season. It's great to see us getting pre season under way with a 4-2 win with the likes of Ashton and Bellamy combining up front. Also good to see thateven with Sears and Tomkins playing for their country in the U19 Euros, we still have other youngsters coming through - Reid, Spence, Widdowson, Stanislas and collison amongst them. Click here to read the report.

I think the future looks bright as long as we don't go under financially and we keep developing the brightest talent in England!!!

Team of Euro 2008

I said as the Euros closed that I would put up my team of the tournament. I have not chosen players who are necessarily obvious, but those who I feel would be great additions to the West Ham squad, in the hopes that one day Mr. Curbishley may just look at this and agree!!! (Yeah right!)

I have not gone for anyone like Arshavin or Sneijder because I know that they are players that are not affordable to us, so I looked back through my blog posts to see what names I had mentioned.

GK - Boruc (Poland)
RB - Anyukov (Russia)
LB - Balta (Turkey)
CB - Marchenas (Spain)
CB - Kolodin (Russia)
RM - Harnik (Switzerland)
LM - Arda (Turkey)
CM - Roger Geurriero (Poland)
CM - Engalaar (Netherlands)
FW - Mutu (Romania)
FW - Pavyluchenko (Russia)

Not surprisingly Russia had the most players in my team, I was not silent on the fact that I favoured them as the tournament progressed. I know that this is just a bit of fun, but there are players here who I believe will go on to be top quality players in world football.

There is only a few weeks to go until the Premiership kicks off, lets see who the Hammers actually bring in other than the exciting young Icelandic defender Eyjolfsson. With the likes of Zamora and Pantsil looking to be off, I hope we do replace them with players of a better quality.

Euro 2008 - The Final

Spain 1 - 0 Germany

I can't believe it has finished. It doesn't seem that long ago that I sat and wrote the first of these posts. Here we are though at the end of what has been a thoroughly entertaining competition packed full of exciting free flowing football for the most part.

The football on offer last night was a fitting end to the championships and the team that had played the most consistent, beautiful at times breathtaking one touch football, won through. It says something that even though their talismanic striker, David Villa was forced to sit out due to injury, the marauding Spaniards managed to outwit and outplay a German team that have at times looked fantastic and at others have looked like they don't have a clue.

It is also fitting that the team of the tournament included 9 of the Spanish side that have entertained us so well. I will be putting up my personal team of the tournament in the next couple of days, it will probably be a reflection of the players I would like to think would be realistic targets for West ham!!!

Now the football is over I will be cheering on Andy Murray against Nadal and will also be looking forward to the start of the Olympics - there is also the small matter of the start of the Premiership in mid August. Spain have triumphed in one major this Summer - will Nadal be next and will it inspire athletes from that nation to perform above and beyond what they thought possible? We'll have to wait and see.