Opinion Pieces
Match Reports
vs West Bromwich Albion
- Monday, 16th March 2009
Although the Hammers had been in reasonably good form recently, the omens were not good for the game against WBA. It had been over a year since West Ham had won a game with Carlton Cole in the side. Behrami and Collison, two of our most influencial players in recent months, were both out with long-term injuries.
vs Bolton Wanderers
- Saturday, 21st February 2009
It could be argued that fans of West Ham will only be convinced that we are on the right track when we manage to win at Bolton. So far we have never won at the Reebok Stadium and have only beaten Bolton away on one occasion in fifty years. Our last victory was at Burnden Park when Tony Cottee was on the score-sheet. As we were unbeaten away from home since October, and Bolton had only won once in seven games, this seemed to be the game that was going to change the record books.
vs Middlesbrough
- Saturday, 14th February 2009
In my report on the Arsenal game I argued that the real test will be when Zola is forced to make changes to a team that was performing well. I raised doubts about the quality of the players in the squad who will need to come in if anyone gets injured.
vs Manchester United
- Sunday, 8th February 2009
The newspaper reports of the game against Manchester United will do doubt be dominated by the activities of their aging stars. The 35-year-old Ryan Giggs will rightly be praised for scoring in every Premier League season since the competition's inaugural campaign of 1992-93. Edwin van der Sar will also dominant the headlines with his 13th consecutive clean sheet in the league that sets a new British record.
vs Arsenal
- Saturday, 31st January 2009
Two years ago, when West Ham became the first visiting team to win at the Emirates, Robert Green was in outstanding form. This time Arsenal only managed three shots on target and two of these were straight at the goalkeeper. The Hammers have now drawn at Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal and Steve Clarke, speaking after the game rightly pointed out that: "It's very important for the players' confidence to come to these places and get a draw. There has been significant progress from October."
vs Hull City
- Wednesday, 28th January 2009
Francis Bacon once said that “hope is a good breakfast, but a bad supper”. After the game Zola and Clarke went into a two-man huddle and had a quiet chat. There was a look of satisfaction on their faces and it would seem that they are gradually producing a team that should provide a diet of success for the long-suffering Upton Park fans.
vs Hartlepool United
- Saturday, 24th January 2009
In the press conference before the game Zola made it clear that he was going to play his first-eleven against Hartlepool as he was “desperate to take West Ham all the way to Wembley.” The fact, that Faubert and Tomkins replaced Neill and Upson is therefore highly significant.
vs Fulham
- Sunday, 18th January 2009
Gianfranco Zola's appointment as West Ham’s manager caused me some concern. The historical record shows that top players rarely make great coaches. It is argued that naturally gifted players find it virtually impossible to understand how to coach someone to greatness. What is more, Zola’s only experience was of coaching the Italy Under-21 team.