Tag: mark noble

WHUFC vs West Bromwich Albion, EPL, 29/11/2015


IMG_20151129_140203
Even the line up was a mess.

Not a lot to write home about for this game if I’m honest, hence why it’s been filed a few days late.

Ogbonna came in for Tomkins and Noble and Payet were replaced by Obiang and Zaurate.

West Ham started lively enough, but seemed to struggle breaking down a typical Pulis team. However that all changed when we got a free kick just after the quarter hour mark. Up stepped Zaurate who proceeded to bend the ball into a postage stamp space in the top corner. Mark Noble could have been out there forever and not scored a set play like that.

The Hammers proceeded to be on top for the rest of the half but had no clear cut chances to extend their lead.

At half time Pulis popped on the Liverpool failure, Ricky Lambert, who you always knew was going to be busy. Within 5 minutes he lashed a shot goalward, which hit Reid on the back, and deflected in for an own goal.

We then brought on our own Liverpool failure, Mr Carroll, as Obiang was struggling trying to cover the midfield. To be honest AC never looks comfortable with Sakho, which is a little bit of a worry. Not for Andy though, as Sakho was carted off with what could be a serious injury after a very promising attack from the Hammers ended up with his shot hitting the side netting. Antonio came on for a cameo appearance near the end, but we didn’t really get to see anything.

The game drew to its inevitable drawing conclusion, and West Brom went away happier I think. But after getting tonked by Spurs last week, we should take some comfort as well.

Points or order: Carl Jenkinson is going backward at a rate. Literally. He refuses to take on those runs he used to, and keeps passing backwards for no reason. Zaurate on the other hand, takes on too many runs and loses the ball too often, and holds on too long. Very selfish. No one else disgraced themselves, or played a blinder. MOTM to Adrian for his save late on, that kept the game at 1-1, and won us a point to go back up to 7th (for while).

Highlight of the game was the bags that invaded the pitch in the second half due to crazy wind. It made the game look more like a Sunday League game more than it already did.

Man U away this week, which I don’t expect much from, but the form book for both teams currently suggests a 0-0. After that we should be picking up points again heading into the new year, but we will have to do it with a skeleton front line. Did Carlton Cole go on loan to Celtic……….?

 

 

WHUFC vs Everton EPL 07/11/2015


It’s been while, what with International breaks, holidays and golf trips (missed the Chelsea Game, bah). Last week saw us get played off the park by an organised Watford team, while our visitors were smashing big Sam’s Sunderland all over the place.

Traditionally, these games are close, with honours even at Upton Park last year, with Everton winning the league game, and WHUFC winning the League Cup game in dramatic style with Adrian scoring a penalty in the shootout.

West Ham lined up with Reid back in the centre of defence following the Ginger Pele’s sending off last week. Carroll was favoured up top again, with Zarate and Valencia on the bench, as Moses took up his slot on the right hand side.

Continue reading “WHUFC vs Everton EPL 07/11/2015” →

WHUFC vs Newcastle United EPL 14/09/2015


Hopes were high as The Hammers entertained their struggling opponents under the lights at the Boleyn. Newcastle were not having the best start of the season ever, but WHU were yet to register a point at home, whilst taking full points on the road at Arsenal and (historically) Liverpool.

Since that game at Anfield, some 4 players have joined WHU and one made his debut last night as Victor Moses came in for Obiang, and Tomkins found himself once more in the right back berth. Mark Noble also made his first appearance as officially the club captain, although with the fans he has held that position since Scott Parker left.

WHU started the game with a spring in their step, with Payet and Koutyate especially taking the game to the Geordies. The players seemed happy to close down, move around and make quick passes. Something we haven’t seen for a while. In the 9th minute a neat interchange between Noble and Sakho fed the ball to the edge of the box to Payet, and he shaped up perfectly to meet the ball in his stride to smash it into the top corner

As is usual for WHU the game started to drift and although we maintained the attacks, we were not really making the best of our chances. The Newcastle No.8 Vumon Anita was playing as a one man defence and was stopping everything and everyone coming his way. We continued as is now usual to half time, content to be ahead but not really pushing. But it must be said we were playing further up the pitch than normal and not buggering about passing it around the back.

It made a change not to go in 2-0 down at home, so happy days.

Once again we started the second half with the wind in our sails attacking the Bobby Moore. We cleared an early attack from Newcastle to Moses who ran the whole length of the pitch and got himself in on goal. He shoots, beats the keeper, but not the bar. The rebound comes straight out to Payet who volleys it in to make it 2-0. Big shout to the the team here, as Payet ran off on his own to celebrate, everyone else was congratulating Moses, who had his head in his hands ! From here on, Payet ran the show and gave us his full set of tricks and passes. This started to breed confidence within the team and soon everyone was at it. Against a better team we may of suffered , but Newcastle could not capitalise on the showboat circus. Even Mark Noble was taking people on and getting crosses in. There were back heels and fancy passes all over the place. The crowd were loving it, but occasionally you could see where the loss of the ball could reduce the deficit easily. The biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for the reintroduction of Andy Carroll (again), who nearly picked up a yellow card with his first touch (or non touch as it was on Tim Krull). His five minute cameo ended the night perfectly. The crowd were chanting “Are you watching Allardyce” for the last few minutes in between cheering on the back flicks and nutmegs.

2-0 to the Irons and 5th place in the league with Man City up next to hold on to our perfect away record this season (!). Why are we playing better? My theory is that now that we have a real squad, competition for places is driving players to play a higher standard of football. Lets hope this continues Messrs Bilic and Dicks

On a side note, Kevin Nolan was on Goals on Sunday this weekend and spoke glowingly of the club and his time there. With the stick people (myself included) have given him for the last 6 months, fair play to him, especially having his boy in a WHU kit. In parting, good luck to him in his future endeavours.

So in short, we have a top, top, quality flair player in midfield,backed up with some steel,  we can pass balls all over the shop without fear, we score some tremendous goals, we can defend and attack in numbers, we are all in it together, and are always on the edge of going too far and screwing it all up.

THE WEST HAM WAY IS BACK !!!!!

#COYI

MOTM: Payet, big shouts to Moses, Kouyate, Noble, and Tomkins.

Slaven Bilic's Claret and Blue Army !
Slaven Bilic’s Claret and Blue Army !
Is a straight line really that hard lads ?
Is a straight line really that hard lads ?

WHUFC vs AFC Bournemouth EPL 22/08/2015


Last season two of our most admired players were Aaron Cresswell and Carl Jenkinson . Aaron picked up Hammer of the year and Jenks was the first name on the shopping list for most fans following his successful season on loan.

Yesterday, they both had shockers and gifted all 4 goals to Bournemouth. First up was Cresswell slipping over to allow an easy cross and shot, followed by passing a ball straight into the path of Hat Trick Hero Callum Wilson to net his second.

Continue reading “WHUFC vs AFC Bournemouth EPL 22/08/2015” →

WHUFC vs Birkirkara FC – UEFA Cup 16/07/2015


West Ham’s journey into Europe continues unabated as the Hammers faced Birkirkara FC of Malta last Thursday. I was late in getting my ticket application, so for the first time in my life I was sat in the East Stand, the famous “Chicken Run”.

This meant watching football side on, as I was near the half way line, and once I got used to it, I actually enjoyed it. You do miss some of the in box action, but you do get a good idea of the ebb and flow.

This weeks opponents were a big step up from our last round match up, and seemed to be organised and have a modicum of talent. The game itself reminded me of a 3rd round FA cup tie. The plucky lower ranked club were all over the pitch closing down WHU, and kept all their men behind the ball.

That said, a stronger WHU team than played in the previous round could not breach the defences. We even had Maiga on the pitch. Like Zarate (who also played) I thought he was gone, but there he was, in the claret and blue. He had a good first half, eliciting a world class save from their keeper, and hitting the post. The were some long shots from Noble and Amalfitano, and that was that for the first 45 minutes. FCB has no shots on target at all, and were limited to 2 or 3 half hearted attacks.

The second half was more of the same, but it was becoming apparent where the issues were. Maiga was subbed for Lee, but we still were not getting the ball forward. The reason being Kevin Nolan was shocking. He was slower than usual, took an age to turn around, and even seem to struggle with passing the ball into peoples path. Everything was straight at them, making them stop and in turn getting closed down.

Consequently we had to wait until time added on, until Tomkins got this second European goal of the season, after the keeper failed to deal with a corner.

Overall a professional performance from the Hammers and I expect next week’s away leg to be an easier proposition, as the adrenaline will have left our opponents, and the need to open up if they are to stand any chance. The next round, we could be up against Inverness which for personal reasons will be interesting.

Attention !
The away firm!
Cresswell free kick
Warm up time
Can you see my season ticket seat ?
Thank you !

WHUFC vs Burnley EPL 2014 -2015 02/05/2015


I have been back a few hours since the end of game wondering what to write, and to be fair I’m still struggling. Anyone with knowledge of these two teams current form could have written this at 10am this morning.

Before the start of the game, a mention was made offering condolences to Ex- Hammer Rio Ferdinand and his family following the tragic loss of his wife that morning. Nice touch and the chants of Rio, Rio, echoing around the Bobby Moore bought a bit of a lump to my throat. Continue reading “WHUFC vs Burnley EPL 2014 -2015 02/05/2015” →

England vs Slovenia Euro 2016 Qualifier 15/11/2014


England went into this game clear leaders in this group with their opponents sitting in second place. A 3-1 win at Wembley extended the group lead to an almost unassailable 6 points, with England now 4-4 in  qualification games. With that all said, England are still not operating at the top table of International Football, and and times were frustrated by a far weaker team.

Today was Rooney’s day. He was playing in his 100th game and was presented with a golden cap from Sir Bobby Charlton. This may of been through gritted teeth as I have covered on my last England visit.

England set up with some new blood at full back with Nathaniel Clyne and Kieron Gibbs, coming in for the established, Leighton Bains and Glenn Johnson. This offered some pace on the edges of the field, which was going to be needed with the pedestrian midfield of Wilshere, Henderson and Lallana playing out of position. I am getting fed up with moaning about Wilshere and how he is not a holding midfielder, but there he was again. Henderson can play that position and does every week, but he is pushed up the pitch at England level, and plays alongside his team mate Lallana. I say team mate, the guy hardly ever plays for Liverpool, and also should not currently be an England player. If you want two holders and a traditional midfielder to play off Sterling, how about Henderson, Noble and Wilshere (further forward).

This poor line up (positionally) meant England had no shots on target in the first half. Every ball forward went to Rooney, who was doing his damnest to score, at the expense of Sterling and Wellbeck. Shocking first half. The playing style was typified by a Jordan Henderson OG admittedly against the run of play in the second half. This seemed to spark England, with the reply almost instant, as Rooney got in the box and won a penalty. Personally I don’t think he was touched at all, and I had a great view. Rooney stepped up to get another goal for his tally, and England really pushed on from there. All of a sudden, the team realised Wellbeck was playing and in his usual lackadaisical style he added another 2 goals to his tally, with Sterling interchanging well with the Arsenal striker. If he keeps getting these goals, I think Rooney’s stint at the top of the scoring charts may be shorter than Sir Bobby Charlton!

Yesterday, my companions for games were the Aldershot duo of Ian and Albert. This was young Albert’s first visit to Wembley and being used to 1.5k at the Rec meant that nearly 90k in attendance was pretty awesome. I’m sure he had a great day out, and hopefully will see better performances in the future.

My MOTM was Wellbeck, and whoever voted for Wilshere, as was announced at Wembley, needs to take a long look at themselves.

One last thing, as regular readers will know. I am a recent convert to NFL, BUT the state of the pitch was shocking yesterday, covered in wrong coloured strips of grass, and the remnants of the gridiron pitch layouts and lettering. Just behind the goal was COWBOYS, and the yardage lines all up the left wing. This is our national stadium and our national game. This needs to be sorted. I’m sure it’s not to hard to use overlays for the non playing surfaces. The stud marks all up the middle didn’t look too great either, but didn’t seem to effect the roll of the ball. Click on the photos to see what I mean.

Enjoy the pics (taken with a recently acquired low end Canon DSLR).

Slovenian clearance
The arch as usual
Rooney Penalty (expand to see the Cowboys lettering)
We made it !
Welcome aboard
Slovenian fans in full flow
Chaps on arrival
Come on England
This is bigger than the Rec !
Kick Off
Wembley welcome
Official flags (new UEFA logo ?)

WHUFC vs QPR EPL 05/10/2014


It's good to be wise when you're young 'Cos you can only be young but the once
It’s good to be wise when you’re young
‘Cos you can only be young but the once

A bit of an odd one. As Chelsea, Arsenal, Totts and these two London clubs were all playing in the capital yesterday, our games kicked off at 16.20? A new one even for Sky.

Arriving in Green Street wasn’t quite the same as Wembley Way for the NFL, but we did have a band in the car park. Some good old Ska from the SkaTonics who were covering Guy Lombardo’s (and latterly Prince Buster’s and The Specials) Enjoy Yourself. Being a bit of a 2 Tone man myself, I stuck around for a couple of tracks and then headed in with a spring in my step.

Continue reading “WHUFC vs QPR EPL 05/10/2014” →