Jingle Bells

Jingle bells, Jingle bells
Jingle all the way,
Oh what fun it is to see,
West Ham win away  :)

Where did that come from, we looked a bit dodgy early on but were even for the rest of the first half.
Second half Tottenham did a lot of running around without looking like scoring and we were getting better, Adebeyor's goal was a bit of a shock but Fat Sam's subs all contributed Diame and Morrison were excellent and what that the same Maiga? suddenly he's a big powerful striker winning things.
Jarvis's equaliser was good Maiga's winner was better, then he struck the cross bar with a bullet.
Renewed confidence flooding back for him and everyone after that. Credit to the unsung heroes who haven't been given much chance to shine this season Taylor, Adrian and Diarra.
Two wins at Shite Hart Lane in one season almost makes up for all the other dross we've seen recently, let's hope they go to Old Trafford believing they can win :)

Premier Predictions (Week 17)

It's getting to that complicated part of the season with multiple fixtures in a short space of time, so stay tuned :)
These are the pre-Christmas fixtures on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
I'll do another post for the boxing day games and the matches up to New year's day before the weekend to confuse you even more.

Liverpool v Cardiff
C Palace v Newcastle
Fulham v Man City
Man Utd v West Ham
Stoke v Aston Villa
Sunderland v Norwich
West Brom v Hull

Southampton v Tottenham
Swansea v Everton
Arsenal v Chelsea

Magical

Another One Bites The Dust

I almost feel sorry for AVB, but then I realise he will probably walk away with another huge pay-off and should get another job pretty quickly.
I don't think anyone warmed to him at Chelsea, but this time round at Tottenham he's been likeable.
They were never going to find it easy this season without Gareth Bale who had almost single handedly got them to top 4, also losing quality back-up players like Dempsey, Huddlestone, Livermore and Caulker.
The players brought in were a collection of expensive foreign imports, and yesterday when AVB was asked if they were the players he wanted to bring in he made it sound like he went along with Baldini and Levy's choices. This could be the main reason behind the sacking today, either they were all bought on AVB's recommendation or Levy just didn't like the way he'd suddenly been blamed for the poor players brought in.
I heard yesterday that Tottenham despite the few high profile defeats had only had more points at this stage once before, so it hasn't been an absolute disaster yet.
I'm hoping West Ham can inflict more problems on Tottenham on Wednesday night :)

Week 16

For anyone that's interested here's the complete facts and figures from the small table on the right.

PL = Games Predicted, HS = Highest Score of the season, the others self explanatory :)

Betflurry

Here we are, an overdue review of this football betting website http://betflurry.com/ which due to the fact you don't need real money makes it a far safer option than the real thing.
There appears to be a lot of work involved considering no money changes hands, all major European leagues and internationals are covered including the in-play option :)

Every week you are allocated a betting kitty of £1000 which can rise if your successfull, and from the drop down box of matches you just have to pick home/away or draw (the odds are a bit more tasty than real betting sites), the minimum bet is £100 so it's a good job it isn't real money.
You are allocated a league and you can create your own and add any friends that are also playing, this part of the program has caused me problems as I've now got 2 identical leagues and managed to invite myself to the league so now there's 2 of me, and I can't figure out how to delete one?
Also I can't seem to change my avatar from the standard "Granada TV" one.
Those problems aside this is a good well layed out free predictions tool, which if you can get a bunch of you playing is probably fun.

Sadly I've killed my own enjoyment by taking advantage of a couple of the early glitches with the "in-play" option, before that I was having a good battle with another member and had a near 80% success rate, that has dropped badly recently due to continually backing West Ham and last week's unpredictable results.

If only that was real money, half a million would come in very handy :)
They appeared to have sorted out a lot of the early problems and the chances of me finding 500/1 odds on a team I had just seen scoring a late winner probably won't happen again.
Over to you AJ, and come back to our less glamourous league, Biopunk's gone in front of you :)

Panic

The price of success? one good season and the board expect it every year.
We see it every year Pulis at Stoke probably did as well as anyone could but that wasn't enough, a few years back Pardew was building a good team at West Ham but the board undermined him with the Tevez deal breaking all the team spirit we'd built up in the 2 previous seasons and he was gone.

I'm not a fan of Steve Clarke, nasty spiteful footballer (saw him up close a few times) and miserable bastard with a face that could only inspire suicide, but he has done a half decent job at West Brom as they have a reputation as a yo-yo club.
The board claimed to have invested heavily but the £13m spent in the summer is only the 16th highest, and Newcastle had already done their spending in January.
I wonder what has-been failed manager they will end up with next?

Also worrying is mentions of us going back to the Zola/Clarke partnership? Watford's current form should see Zola sacked soon despite having his buddies in the boardroom, meaning it could happen and relegation would be confirmed soon after ... scary thought :(

Premier Predictions (Week 16)

Here we go again, 7 games on Saturday, 3 games on Sunday.
City v Arsenal is the stand out game, if Arsenal get anything here they must be considered serious challengers which injuries permitting I think they are.
The other big game is sadly a relegation six-pointer at Upton Park, injuries are hitting us hard with Downing the latest casualty after Flanagan's diabolical tackle last week.

Man City v Arsenal
Cardiff v West Brom
Chelsea v C Palace
Everton v Fulham
Newcastle v Southampton
West Ham v Sunderland
Hull v Stoke
Aston Villa v Man Utd
Norwich v Swansea
Tottenham v Liverpool

Interesting

The Germans dominated the Champions league last season and were rightly praised after some amazing results mainly from Munich and Dortmund. With the exception of Arsenal's great win in Munich, England's teams looked to have some catching up to do.
This season early on Munich won at the Etihad and Dortmund won at the Emirates, so it looked like the story would continue despite Chelsea and Man Utd's home wins over Schalke and Leverkusen.
But the four away legs in the second half of the competition maybe show a shift?

Schalke 0-3 Chelsea
Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Arsenal
Bayer Leverkusen 0-5 Man Utd
Bayern Munich 2-3 Man City

World Cup Draw 2014

World Cup Draw 2014

Groups + (World Rankings)

A - Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon (10 16 20 51)
Brazil should walk this with the other 3 taking points of each other, the climate won't help Croatia.

B - Spain, Holland, Chile, Australia (1 9 15 59)
Any 3 from 4, Chile could upset the European big guns.

C - Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan (4 12 17 48)
Fairly even group, Colombia should be favourites but have a habit of blowing it on the big stage.

D - Uruguay, Italy, England, Costa Rica (6 7 13 31)
Again any 3 from 4, Uruguay should be favourites but seem overrated after only being 5th in qualifying, Italy still rely on the old guard, England who knows?

E - Switzerland, France, Ecuador, Honduras (8 19 23 41)
A really weak group where any of them could qualify, a lot of people predicted that France would avoid the big guns .. and they did!!

F - Argentina, Bosnia, Nigeria, Iran (3 21 36 45)
Argentina and ?, Bosnia looked good in qualifying but first time nerves and the climate will give the others a shout.

G - Germany, Portugal, USA, Ghana (2 5 14 24)
The real group of death, the Europeans should qualify but Ghana and the Yanks are no mugs.

H - Belgium, Russia, Algeria, South Korea (11 22 26 54)
Another weak group where any could qualify, the talented Belgian squad haven't had the big tournament experience so might struggle.

All kicks off 12th June next year :)

England Games
15/06/14 2:00 AM V Italy
19/06/14 8:00 PM V Uruguay
24/06/14 5:00 PM V Costa Rica

The Final - 13/07/14 8:00 PM

Premier Predictions (Week 15)

Sorry guys it's another quick turnaround as the Premier league tries to catch up after all those international breaks.
7 Games on Saturday, 2 on Sunday and Swans v Tiggers on Monday.

Man Utd v Newcastle
C Palace v Cardiff
Liverpool v West Ham
Southampton v Man City
Stoke v Chelsea
West Brom v Norwich
Sunderland v Tottenham
Fulham v Aston Villa
Arsenal v Everton
Swansea v Hull

Good luck all :)

Bye Jol

Another Premiership sacking, and like DiCanio earlier in the season I don't think anyone was surprised.

Watching Fulham against West Ham yesterday Fulham were awful and made us look like world beaters (which we're not).
His policy of recruiting so called flair players and has-beens has backfired big time.
Berbatov, Ruiz and Taraabt are all gifted but not team players, Bent, Duff, Karagounis and Parker saw their best days long ago.

I've never really rated Jol as a manager but always enjoyed his after match comments, as his accent reminds me of old seedy 70's films for some reason :)

Premier Predictions (Week 13 + 14)

A Double this week, games on Saturday and Sunday.and next Tuesday and Wednesday.
This weekends games are week 13, the midweek games count as week 14.

Week 13
Aston Villa v Sunderland
Cardiff v Arsenal
Everton v Stoke
Norwich v C Palace
West Ham v Fulham
Newcastle v West Brom
Tottenham v Man Utd
Hull v Liverpool
Chelsea v Southampton
Man City v Swansea

Week 14
C Palace v West Ham
Arsenal v Hull
Liverpool v Norwich
Man Utd v Everton
Southampton v Aston Villa
Stoke v Cardiff
Sunderland v Chelsea
Swansea v Newcastle
Fulham v Tottenham
West Brom v Man City

Just need the second set by Tuesday night, so no hurry.
Good luck all :)

Premier Predictions (Week 12)

Just woke up after nodding off during the England v Germany game, so no time to go to bed as the alarm goes off in 2 hours!!
So a stiff neck and just found out we lost again :(

Anyway Premier predictions is back for an uninterupted run now all those internationals are out of the way, games over 3 days this week with 7 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday and the Baggies Villa game on Monday.
Arsenal Saints is the top of the table clash and the Scouse derby is the early game (BT top pick?).
Obviously the big game for this blog is the late game on Saturday, just read that the Hammers have lost Collins, Rat and O'Brien to injuries picked up on international duty joining Reid and the rest in the sick bay meaning we now have only 2 defenders and no forwards so Fat Sam will have to play a 2-8-0 formation??
Good luck all :)

Everton v Liverpool
Arsenal v Southampton
Fulham v Swansea
Hull v C Palace
Newcastle v Norwich
Stoke v Sunderland
West Ham v Chelsea
Man City v Tottenham
Cardiff v Man Utd
West Brom v Aston Villa

World Cup Squad?

I've been looking through prospective candidates for England's World Cup squad, and here's my take on it.
A few of the old hands will probably be selected by Hodgson but I reckon this slightly younger lot could be worth a go.
Don't expect us to win or go really close, but it would be great if we could have a few performances to remember.

Goalies
Joe Hart, Ben Foster, Jack Butland

Defenders
Kyle Walker, Ashley Cole, Leighton Baines, Chris Smalling, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Phil Jones

Midfield
Steven Gerrard, Theo Walcott, Michael Carrick, Adam Lallana, Jack Wilshere, Ravel Morrison, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andros Townsend

Forwards
Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck, Rickie Lambert, Saido Berahino

Reserves
Fraser Forster, Steven Caulker, Luke Shaw, Tom Cleverley, Ross Barkley, Andy Carroll


Thanks and Goodbye
Ashley Young, Frank Lampard, James Milner, Jermain Defoe, John Ruddy, Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards, Jordan Henderson, Gareth Barry, Matthew Jarvis, John Terry, Michael Dawson, Scott Parker, Glen Johnson, Rio Ferdinand, Aaron Lennon, Leon Osman, Frazier Campbell, Rob Green, Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson, Ryan Shawcross, Tom Huddlestone

Maybe Next Time
Jack Rodwell, Jay Rodriguez, Raheem Sterling, Wilfried Zaha, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Ryan Bertrand, James Ward-Prowse, Jonjo Shelvey, Nathan Redmond, Tom Ince, Andre Wisdom, Eric Dier, Tom Carroll, Danny Ings, Jake Livermore

England

If anyone was suddenly believing we were world beaters after our World cup qualification, this should bring them back to reality.
The 4th best team in South America made us look really ordinary, I realise we played with an experimental team but their were enough experienced players on view to have made a game out of it.
The only bright spot was Adam Lalalalana who didn't look overawed and was our best player.

Fraser Forster - Looked slow and cumbersome, probably better than Ruddy but not a patch on Hart or Foster.
Glen Johnson - Best days are behind him and with only Kyle Walker challenging him we have a problem in the right back position.
Leighton Baines - Proving again he's not a patch on Ashley Cole as a defender, and against teams that don't allow him to get forward he will struggle.
Phil Jones - Should do better, needs a run in central defence with club and country which he's unlikely to get.
Gary Cahill - Usually impresses me but now I know why Mourinho leaves him on the bench so often, lucky not to get sent off in this match.
Frank Lampard - Should retire gracefully now, he's been good in the past but those days have gone.
Jack Wilshere - Has got talent but injury prone and his attitude will see him sent off against teams who specialise in winding up opponents.
James Milner - No idea why he keeps getting picked? very average player.
Adam Lallana - Good debut, skilful player who might make the grade.
Wayne Rooney - Having his best season in years, struggled in this game but still looked better than most on view.
Jay Rodriguez - Rabbit in the headlights, played out of position but never looked likely to have any influence on the game. Maybe he could be brought back after the World cup for another go.

Andros Townsend - Has looked very good so far, but didn't get a chance to shine last night.
Chris Smalling - Like Jones needs to play regularly as he looks promising.
Jermaine Defoe - Another one who's best days are behind him.
Jordan Henderson - Average midfielder lacking the skills for international matches.
Tom Cleverley - Looked good last season but seems to be going backwards.
Ross Barkley - Promising player but gives the ball away too much, will get better.

Rickie Lambert - Has done nothing wrong and should stay in the squad.
Daniel Sturridge - Skilful player who seems to play according to his mood, can be very good but sometimes looks like he can't be bothered.
Steven Gerrard - Should be good for another year, if Lampard's not playing he still looks our best midfielder but injuries are a big problem.
Ashley Cole - Still our best left back.
Joe Hart - Still our best keeper despite the mistakes.
John Ruddy - He's English and a goalie?
Phil Jagielka - Reliable, best option at the moment.
Kieron Gibbs - 3rd best left back possibly, could be good in the future if he keeps playing regularly for Arsenal.

Possession

According to the pundits possession is key, if you've got the ball you should win.
The facts don't really support that fact this weekend.

Everton	73%	Draw
Chelsea	69%	Draw
Liverpool	67%	Won
Swansea	65%	Draw
Tottenham	65%	Lost
Man City	63%	Lost
Southampton	61%	Won
Arsenal	60%	Lost
Cardiff	56%	Lost
West Ham	53%	Lost

Dive Dive Dive

3 strong contenders for dive of the week.

Ashley Young's dramatics after the Sociedad defender held his arm were rightly criticised.

Gary Hooper's amazing fall after tripping over Jaaskelainen's arm was just about legal as the West Ham goalie gave him the opportunity to display his diving skills.

But outright winner must be Ramires who threw himself at West Brom defender Reid and fell over to earn Chelsea an extra time penalty.
Mourinho's after match comment really just made him look a prat, he should have just said "it was a bit soft but we'll take it".

.... and no mention of Luis Suarez or Gareth Bale this time :)

Premier Predictions (Week 11)

It's that time again, one more set of fixtures before yet another international break.

Aston Villa v Cardiff
Chelsea v West Brom
C Palace v Everton
Liverpool v Fulham
Southampton v Hull
Norwich v West Ham

Tottenham v Newcastle
Sunderland v Man City
Man Utd v Arsenal
Swansea v Stoke

Nostalgia

Some great old footie films found at http://www.britishpathe.com
Here's a couple for the Hammer fans (click to go to page). Plenty of other clubs if you search at the top of the page.

SOCCER AGAIN!

WEST HAM FOOTBALL TEAM