A terse, simmering match was played out here, as West Ham outlasted Sunderland 1-0. Sam Allardyce was late getting to the pitch for this match, and as such his reception was muted, with the contest already in swing. He wouldn’t have missed much; just as the Hammers supportership have been unrestrained in expressing their relief […]
This article first appeared on Outside90.com After months of flirting with the likes of Rafa Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti, Marco Bielsa and David Moyes, West Ham have their man, which is to say, none of those four names just mentioned. No, with every other candidate on the list having sought employment elsewhere, or remained at their […]
When your manager has never felt at ease in his position, and his contract is running out at season’s end, it behoves you to take swift, effective action. Either you renew his contract, or you ensure a replacement is secured in time. What you shouldn’t do, in your privileged position in charge of a Premier […]
When your star striker, the club record signing, has played only barely half of the games over a three season period, there’s something wrong. More than just an unlucky spell of injury, this indicates a severe, recurring problem. Andy Carroll, former England international and occasional West Ham player, is the poster boy for hamstrung talent, […]
Two vital players, both only at the club temporarily. As is always the case in football, the paperwork is causing all the headaches here. Sam Allardyce might not be employed in East London next season, but that, it seems, is the least of the club’s problems. Carl Jenkinson and Alex Song have been highly influential […]
In what was a close game, a desperate Leicester side eventually won out. These three points, so precious for Nigel Pearson’s team, gives them at least a hope in beating relegation. For West Ham, with Sam Allardyce seemingly lolloping out the door at season’s end, this was not a display for the annals of history. […]
West Ham tussled and turned frenetically with Sunderland, who, under new manager Dick Advocaat, were hoping to immediately revive themselves from their relegation-bound malaise. The match wasn’t one for the purists, but it did teach us a few things. I articulated them in digital text, on Outide90.com. West Ham were waiting with baited breath on […]
It’s only natural for those jaded and rubicund devotees to think they know better. They’re the ones who shell out a small fortune every weekend. They’re the ones who’ve been to every home game since 1962, they’re the ones with the modest collection of vintage match day programs, and they’re the ones with the indoctrinated […]
Jonathan Wilson perhaps summed up Andy Carroll best, or just most simply: “A terrifying force in the air”. Barney Ronay, when it was his turn to wax lyrical about Carroll’s oeuvre, turned a typically luscious phrase: “Football as interpreted through the eyes of a rearing, drizzle-soaked highland stag”. Carroll’s reintroduction to West Ham’s starting […]
Usually, by this point in the Premier League season, if a manager hasn’t already been shown the door, we at least have some forlorn figures that we can just about nail on as being ripe for the sack. Last November, Ian Holloway and Paolo Di Canio had already been disposed of, and by the time […]
West Ham’s highly successful summer transfer business has been a heralded topic lately. Sam Allardyce brought in 9 players, nearly all of whom have flourished immediately under his stewardship. Of course, after scoring a goal in each of his first 6 starts, Diafra Sakho has rightfully snatched most of the attention. But standing in the […]
In March 2013, Stoke City staged their home fixture against West Ham United. Most enthusiastic perusers who had scanned that weekend’s match ups would have marked this one down as an emphatic “must-avoid”. Entrenched as they were in the deepest, most mind-numbing depths of their respective periods of long-ball direness, Tony Pulis’s Potters and Sam […]
West Ham’s run continues, and looking at the way they beat champions Manchester City on the weekend, it shows no sign of slowing. At Upton Park, as Sergio Aguero, David Silva et al strode out onto the pitch, the fans (and presumably the team) were keenly aware that this would be the ultimate heat-check. Lose […]
A more cynical observer of the current league standings might well scoff, review West Ham’s last two matches, matches they won, and smugly utter some dripping, tepid arrangement of syllables the gist of which indicates that Sam Allardyce’s team are “lucky” to be holding such a lofty position on the table. They would scour the […]
Sean Dyche’s squad is the least glittering in the league and the financial restrictions under which he must try and work are suffocating. It was clear, as Burnley burst out of the dressing room onto the pitch, racing around, pressing with venom, that Dyche had instructed his team to try and shock West Ham into […]
West Ham were convincingly beaten by Southampton on Saturday, despite going 1-0 up through Mark Noble’s deflected opening strike. Onlookers may have been unsure as to how much possession this new Saints side would demand, and how much the new, attackingly-minded West Ham side would be happy to secede, but these questions were answered quickly. […]
Malky Mackay has ruled himself out of the race for the vacant Crystal Palace managerial position, having been embroiled today in a text message scandal. The former Cardiff manager allegedly took part in a series of homophobic, racist and sexist text messages sent between he and Iain Moody, his former head of recruitment at Cardiff. On the […]
Things are tense at Upton Park. Andy Carroll is injured, again. The pre-season trip to New Zealand resulted in two embarrassing losses to A-League opposition. The manager is obviously uncomfortable working to the new, attacking brief set by the owners, who themselves haven’t helped matters by accidentally ‘favouriting’ tweets calling for Allardyce’s removal. Ravel Morrison, […]
A club record signing. A English striker in his mid-twenties. A player of precocious power, with more than enough ability to lead the line. A few England caps and some impressive moments at international level. A physical style that attracts foot and ankle injuries, injuries that seem to come with regularity. A debut season restricted […]
If the two men in charge of West Ham sack Sam Allardyce at the end of the season (and it’s being reported as being more than likely) it will spell the end of the reign of a most bullish and divisive manager. Big Sam’s been there since 2011 and his time at West Ham could […]
