The side has improved in recent months and this is partly because of the stability brought by the new owners. Fans should also be buoyed by the fact David Gold and David Sullivan are determined to take the club forward in the future.

Both of the new owners want to ensure the previous “ill-judged” financial management of West Ham in recent seasons is not repeated. However, the long-term future of the club will be massively influenced by their ability to stay in the Premier League.

Gold and Sullivan have, by and large, shown faith in Gianfranco Zola and his side, so now the players need to repay that by getting the points to ensure West Ham remain in the top flight of English football.
Victory over relegation rivals Bolton would help this aim no end. Despite sitting in 13th, West Ham are only three points above the Premier League drop zone. However, a win would push them further clear and enhance their prospects of staying up.

Bolton have a poor away record this season and have struggled for goals, so West Ham fans will be hopeful Carlton Cole and the new forwards Zola was allowed to bring in to bolster the squad can fire them to victory.
With a number of poor sides sitting below West Ham, the football betting suggests they should stay up but Zola will know his side cannot afford to become complacent.

The trio of Mido, Benni McCarthy and Ilan were signed to relieve some of the goalscoring burden that was on Cole and they need to start repaying Zola and the West Ham board by getting goals between now and the end of the season.

For his part, McCarthy will be hoping to hit the goal trail ahead of the World Cup.

While few will be placing a World Cup bet on South Africa, McCarthy will be hoping to help the host nation to an upset or two in the group stage.

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Perhaps finally, after takeovers, athletes denying us the olympic stadium, Zola’s career, debt and lawsuits, we can focus on the football

COYI!

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The diminutive striker rocketed to prominence when he scored at the tender age of 18 against Blackburn Rovers in 2008, only five minutes after coming on for his debut – but that goal remains the only one he has got for the Hammers.

Before the start of this season he was loaned to Crystal Palace in order to get some first team football and hopefully some confidence but this didn’t happen.

The 20-year-old failed to score in 19 appearances, but his time at Selhurst Park was cut short due to a striker shortage at West Ham.

Now that has issue has been resolved he has gone to Coventry City on loan for another taste of Championship football.

Sears claims many clubs are still after his signature but some people may wonder why. He has a poor goalscoring record and does not look like a player who is going to be a big success at the top level.
He is going to have to score some goals soon otherwise he could become the forgotten man by the time he is 21.

Speaking to the Coventry Telegraph after sealing his latest loan move, Sears admitted there were “a few others” interested in him.

“Bristol City came in last minute after I had spoken to Chris Coleman but as soon as Coventry were mentioned I told the gaffer I wanted to go,” he said.

However, Coventry’s Championship odds suggest Sears will need to put in some stunning performances if they are to sneak into the play-offs.

Meanwhile, Frank Nouble must be hoping he won’t be the next young Hammers striker to go the way of Sears and he will be looking to get a few goals now he is on loan at West Brom.

The Championship football betting indicates that West Brom have a much better chance of success than Coventry this season, but it remains to be seen what role Nouble will play in their promotion push.

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The guy is a true gent, quality West Ham fan and now works full time as a legend

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The comments from Gold and Sullivan as they faced the press after buying their 50% controlling stake in West Ham filled many of us with some optimism once more about the future of our club. OK, the debt was huge, but that’s what they were doing surely, helping to resolve the debt. To keep our bigger name players and maybe bring in some new faces. In fact, their exact comment was:

“We can reassure fans who were terrified that they were going to lose two or three of the best players that that is now not going to happen.”

This is fantastic isn’t it? We’ve got new owners who have a love of West Ham on their hearts, they’re West Ham fans after all…he was born just up the road at number 442 after all. If I remember, Terrence Brown was a West Ham fan too.

OK, maybe they’re not able to bring in star players but at the very least we have some stability. That’s all we as fans ever asked for. Direction and stability.

Sullivan’s trap didn’t stop there though. Since the ‘takeover’ he has continued to spout his mouth off about the debt we are in. Frankly David, we don’t need to hear it any more. It’s not that any of us are in denial about out perilous financial situation, we’re all very aware of that…hence our desire to wrap up new owners as quick as possible. The worst thing you can do it continue to chat to the press about how bad things are still. But continue he does and it’s not filling me with any confidence in the slightest…and it’s certainly not stabilising.

Stability – or complete lack of

This one, for example, about Zola published just today:

Of all the managers I’ve dealt with he [Zola] is the nicest. The question is ‘Is he too nice?’ Ossie Ardiles was the nicest guy you could meet but look what he did to Tottenham. Time will tell. Zola will prove himself over the next few games

Helpful.

Or this one

“It’s not awful” – in reference to selling Upson. In fact, he continues…like only he can.

“If we can get a substantial sum for him then we’ve got to take it. It’s business sense”

But why stop there?

“He’s in his prime as a centre-half, but he is probably in his last four or five years and it’s not awful that he has to be sold”

What possible remaining incentive is there for Upson now to give a toss about playing for us any more? Why should he bother?

He’s clearly not wanted here by the ‘owners’. But remember, they’re West Ham fans after all so what they’re saying must reflect that of West Ham fans across the globe. Just because their bit on the side once had some beef with Upson, there’s no reason so sacrifice him just to keep her happy. Because none of us want her here more than Upson.

In fact it’s nothing more than demoralising, foolish, unhelpful and utter stupiditiy. Maybe that is the case that Upson wants to move on…so be it. But to come out into the media and say something like that is quite simply a huge kick in the b**locks to everything we’ve fought for over the past few seasons…to keep hold of the bigger name players. To push places in the league. It was a mistake to sell Collins at the expense of keeping Upson maybe, but to now say that “Upson will be sold and we don’t really care much about it” makes us look like right royal mugs.

To say, however, that it makes business sense to sell him completely undermines one of the first things they ever said publicly about West Ham – that buying us “makes no business sense at all”

They said that buying West Ham from that point of view was a stupid thing to do, therefore if keeping Upson is a stupid thing to do too (from a business point of view), then they should do it. Because from a footballing point of view, it’s the right thing to do. And I’m here for the football.

It actually undermines what they said about us not losing our biggest players too – well actually maybe it doesn’t. At least we’re not “terrified” any more as we know it’s going to happen.

Personally I feel that Sullivan and Gold have done nothing more since they come in than rock the boat. They came in riding on their donkey’s, self-proclaiming themselves as the saviours of West Ham. Filling us with a confidence that what had been, is no longer…we can comfortably look forward to security and stability. Yet since that day they have done nothing more that take the megaphone by two hands, blurt their mouths of and frankly agitate the situation further.

They came in riding on their donkeys, self-proclaiming themselves as the saviours of West Ham

Buying West Ham makes perfect business sense

Here’s the thing. Buying West Ham does make perfect business sense…maybe less so if we go down however. OK, wage bills are through the roof and we’ve acquired some major crocks over the past few years. That, we all agree, needs to change.

Why are they so keen to to get us into the Olympic Stadium – so keen in fact that they’ve employed some tart on what is likely to be a huge amount of money who is solely responsible for getting us into that stadium. The reason they are so set on getting us there is because of the value that the Boleyn Ground holds.

They are set to make a huge amount of money if we end up at the Olympic Stadium.

We move to the Olympic Stadium, we rent it. We sell the Boleyn for a substantial sum – therefore easily reimbursing Gold & Sullivan for their investment in the club and then some. They are set to make a huge amount of money if we end up at the Olympic Stadium.

So yes, buying us at a fairly decent price make complete business sense.

Trouble is, sell the Boleyn and you all sell our soul. You lose the atmosphere and the passion that has resonated around the famous stadium for decades. I can’t help but think that they are only likely to drive our club down a division or two by making a grave misjudgement about this stadium move. It’s the wrong thing to do…but not for them, it will work out brilliantly.

UPDATE: In  fact, in response to Sullivan’s most recent remarks, Zola has been pushed to question their necessity. To get Zola cross takes a lot of work:

“I am not happy about it, I don’t think it does any good for the team.” — Zola

Summed up my post nicely Franco, cheers

---------------------------

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Obviously they’re not official! Still they are a good way to visualise where we could be playing in a few years.

I’m still a little undecided as to whether I think it will be the right thing to do, or whether I actually want it to happen, but for now it’s a reality that it could happen…quick poll here just to see what everyone else thinks:

Three points at the weekend

COYI!

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Former England international Dyer signed for West Ham for £6 million in 2007, however he has played only 18 games for the Hammers since his arrival.

A broken leg soon after his arrival and persistent hamstring problems has limited his chances at the club, but David Sullivan and David Gold have looked to cut costs at Upton Park since their arrival.

The club are understood to have debts of around £110 million and the club are looking to slash the wage bill. Dyer could be seen as a waste of money as he earns £60,000 a week.

Sullivan has told the Daily Telegraph that players who hardly play due to injury should considering retiring from professional football, hinting at Dyer without actually naming the star.

He said: “There is one player who hardly plays at all who might have to accept retirement.

“We have to cut some overheads, staff who are on the administration side and support staff for the team and work down the contracts we have inherited which are terrible.”

West Ham recently moved to bolster their attacking options ahead of crucial upcoming Premier League fixtures by signing strikers Benni McCarthy, Mido and Ilan, which should hopefully improve the side’s record in front of goal.

The football odds suggest that West Ham should stay up this season, but they still have work to do guarantee safety.

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I deliberately titled that post ‘A knee-jerk Mido reaction’ because it was literally that, a knee-jerk reaction. As I mentioned in a comment on the same post, the outburst stemmed from the constant feeling of despondancy I’m getting from West Ham these days. How many times do we leave Upton Park feeling we should have played better, played with more passion, or got a better result? It jsut so happened that the Mido signing was the trigger or aforementioned rant…

Anyway, it’s since become clear that he’s only on loan and only on 1k a week – so with that (and his goal scoring record on 10 in 64) in mind, “Mido, a good or bad signing”?

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I don’t want to see some overweight, has-been, who has never proved himself consistently at the top level and who is neither good enough to feature for Middlesbrough, in a West Ham shirt.

I don’t care how little we pay him, or how much he wants to to prove a point. He wasn’t good enough then, and he’s not good enough now.

Thanks.

UPDATE: Can I just clarify, I wrote this before the signing was confirmed as a four-month loan deal (hence the knee-jerk reference). Equally I will always always get behind the team 100% when they’re on the pitch playing for us. But it doesn’t mean I have to be happy with a signing.

Also, here are a couple of comments from a Boro fan:

“Mido said to be in talks with West Ham. Hahahahahahahahahahahaah”

“MIDO HAS SIGNED FOR WEST HAM! omg lol roflmao”

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In hopefully a couple of posts I will cover my thoughts on all of the takeover (including Karren Braidie), old saggy chops and his schemes to become the least original wheeler deeler football has ever seen and of course the poor result at Portsmouth last night (including and entirely suitable ref based rant).

An elbow, yes. But we were poor

To describe West Ham as poor last night, may actually be the wrong word. It’s not that we were lucky to get away with a draw, or that there was no desire from the midfield or in fact that the strikers looked off the pace. It was, on that note, great to see a very eager looking Carlton get back in the side.

It was poor to throw away another lead however. And that, in a nutshell, is what we’ve been lacking all year…a clinical edge.

The chances were there to put the game beyond Portsmouth, yet we failed to put any of them away. We were actually fortunate to get away with a goal that could easily have been prevented. What frustrates me is that so many times this year we’ve seen hard graft from all areas of the pitch but left games two or three points short of what we deserved. In other games, however, we’ve not been at our best yet missed chances to take all the spoils. To survive this year we need to start turning off-key performances into results. And, certainly keeping hold of a lead.

Last night could have been a different result – had Nouble put away he chances our confidence would have soared and the game could have been put out of reach with enough time to enjoy our football, with all dues respect to Portsmouth who I feel were, honestly, second best for the most part. However, as it’s been on so many occasions our slender advantage has lead to mistakes, nervousness and ultimately conceding a goal…or two.

Clinical, West Ham.

It really needs to change – I end up feeling deflated after so many games, leaving knowing what could have been.

On the plus side, there were some performances that were more like what we expect to see from said indivuduals. Mark Noble looked strong, well positioned and alert for the whole game. His desire to continue running, challenging and fighting back was evident for all to see – and encouragment considering he has been off the boil during parts of this season. Another, Valon Behrami, showed why he’s being valued in the region of £15m by clubs in this transfer window. Something that stood out from him last night, which I’ve not noticed before, was his pace – perhaps Pompey were just slow, but he was attacking forward balls and for the best part, getting on the end of them ahead of the defender. Indeed, I felt Kovac also put in a very ecouraging shift.

Andre Marriner – you are a shocking ref.

Harsh? Maybe. Actually, no. He is a shocker.

I’m honest enough to say that actually last night he was very poor for both sides – not necissarily throughout the whole game, but certainly missed some glaring key decisions. Pompey fans, you may argue it was a handball in/on the edge of the box.

But it’s West Ham (again) who I feel were hard-done-by.

There is no shadow of a doubt in my mind that the Portsmouth player led with his elbow, it caught Tomkins square in the side of the face and he was not able to get up and continue playing. In fact, he had to go off.

To allow the game to continue was the wrong decision. To play any sort of advantage to West Ham was the wrong decision. Of course any to Pompey was the wrong decision too. In fact, the only thing Marriner did right in this whole situation was get himself in a good enough position to make the right decision – which he failed to do.

It was a foul and a dangerous one at that. Arguably a booking. If I recall correctly, a foul by Carlton Cole was given a bit later in the game for what I can only assume was a small push in the back. Replays suggest it may not have even been that  – a slight touch maybe. Yet Marriner in all his glorious, pompus, egotisitcal wisdom decided that that was a foul.

Yet again, unexplainable inconsitencies from a referee have cost a side points.

It has to stop.

I’m pleased to have got that off my chest…don’t even get my started on Harry “Debroah Meeden” Redknapp.

Anyway, massive game against Blackburn coming up – I’m once again optimistic of all three points…let’s just hope I’m not once again left feeling entirely disappointed

COME ON YOU IRONS!

Sam

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