West Ham team to play Manchester United

Jaaskelainen; Spence, Reid, Tomkins, Potts; Diame, O'Neill, Diarra; Taylor, Vaz Te, C Cole.

My thoughts-

• Nice to see Spence and Potts in there. Will be an amazing experience for the two of them at such a young age.
• Tomkins and Reid are starting together at the back. The way it should be.
• DIAME IS BACK!

Possible 2013-14 West Ham Shirts?

Yesterday, I tweeted an image of a West Ham 2013-14 home kit that I created. This started a bit of a discussion about the possible look of the West Ham 2013-14 kits. 
I then got tweeted this image by @LukeHines. He said that these are expected to be West Ham's shirts for the 2013-14 season. 

Thoughts?

Weekend's Premier League Results.

Premier League results (12/01/13 - 13/01/13)

Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City
Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton
Everton 0-0 Swansea
Fulham 1-1 Wigan Athletic
Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool
Norwich City 0-0 Newcastle United
Reading 3-2 West Bromwich Albion
Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United
Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Game of the weekend:
Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City.

Worst game of the weekend:
Everton 0-0 Swansea.

West Ham 2013/14 kits that I have created.

I got bored and decided to make a possible 2012/13 West Ham home kit. This is based on research and what I would like to see. 

Many people have said that Adidas are making our kits and Alpari are going to be our sponsor. Ill be happy to see Adidas come and Macron go. Adidas are my favourite sports brand so Adidas making West Ham's kits would made me one happy boy. I used paint to make these kits, I found the templates on google for the shirt and the shorts. 

If you would like me to make an away kit please notify me and I will some time soon.

West Ham United

Hello everyone. Here are my views on a few things going on at West Ham. Its nothing in specific or anything. I hope you enjoy the read. 

A look ahead to the end of the month-
The 3-0 defeat to Sunderland leaves us 7 points above the relegation zone with a game in hand.  Our remaining Premier League fixtures for this month are QPR (H), Arsenal (A), Fulham (A). Two away games and one home game. Following today's defeat, the game against QPR is now a must win. The R's have started picking up a few points since Harry Redknapp took over and will be full of confidence after a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge and a goalless draw against Tottenham today. The points will be vital for both teams come Saturday. I cant see us getting much from the Arsenal game, Our defence needs to be at its best from the first second to the last. Diame will be a key player for us. We then move onto Craven Cottage at the end of the month to end a run of three London Derbies. If we keep Berbatov quiet, I can see us returning to East London with all three points.

The West Ham Twitter World

Twitter is the main way of communicating with fellow football fans now. So where are West Ham fans when they send a tweet?

This is judged on Tweets sent with the hashtag #whufc

Paolo Di Canio's Thoughts Ahead Of West Ham's Replay Against Manchester United

Here's what West Ham legend Paolo Di Canio had to say ahead of West Ham's clash against Manchester United next week.
"I would love to see West Ham get a result at Manchester United in their FA Cup replay on Wednesday because it would be great to see their fans celebrating at Old Trafford again.

The game will bring back very good memories for me because I scored the winning goal there for West Ham, also in the FA Cup in 2001, when Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez stood with his hand in the air, claiming I was offside.

An Away Days Rip Off?

Ticket prices are at an all time high now. And with players wages rising, ticket prices are only going to get higher. This spells more misery for away fans who are simply paying too much to watch their team play away.

The Premier League is set to encourage clubs to bring in new incentives to encourage away fans but will not intervene directly over ticket prices.
There have been calls for a cap on the amounts clubs are charging away fans; especially for profile matches such as the Manchester Derby and the Merseyside derby. But the league insists tickets are a matter for individual clubs.

Premier League chiefs are aware of the need for strong away support at grounds in order to maintain the atmosphere of the top flight, one of its strengths compared to others in Italy and Spain.
According to The Premier League, the average away attendance has remained about same (2,200) for the last three seasons. The Premier League will focus on incentives to make clubs consider putting away tickets on sale, and possibly subsiding coach travel. 

News- Martin Olsson

Manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that West Ham are still locked in negotiations with Blackburn Rovers as they look to thrash out a deal for defender Martin Olsson.

Blackburn reportedly rejected the Hammers’ initial £2 million offer for the 24-year-old Sweden international but Allardyce says talks are ongoing with the Championship club.

Allardyce worked with full back Olsson during his time at Ewood Park and admits a left sided defender is his top priority after injuries to Joey O’Brien and George McCartney.
Allardyce was forced to start 18-year-old academy product Dan Potts in Sunday’s 2-2 FA Cup draw with Manchester United having recalled the youngster from loan at Colchester United.
Quizzed on reports that Blackburn are asking for £7 million for Olsson, Allardyce said: "I don’t think that’s true, no, but we have made an enquiry. Ongoing negotiations at the moment."

News- Andy Carroll's Injury Situation

Injured Liverpool loanee Andy Carroll is two weeks away from his West Ham comeback, manager Sam Allardyce has revealed.

 The 24-year-old, who is on a season-long loan at Upton Park, has been sidelined since twisting his knee in West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United back in November.

West Ham have bolstered their attacking options with the loan signing of Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh in Carroll’s absence, but the England star’s return will be a big boost for the Hammers.
Carroll is back in light training as he works towards a return to action before the end of the month.

"It’s a bit difficult to put an actual time on it but I would expect it will be no longer than a couple of weeks now" said the West Ham boss. 
"He’s doing some straight-line running, he’s been doing that for a few days." 
"If he doesn’t feel anything then we’ll progress onto interval running and changes of direction, then introduce the ball, then hopefully come back with the players as soon as possible."
"It could be a few days. It could be a bit longer than that just depending on his progression day by day now."

An Announcement

I'm now back at school after two weeks off. Because of homework and revising etc, the number of articles that I post will go down. Im currently in year 10; a crucial stage at school with my GCSE exams only 12 months away. If I don't do well in my GCSE's, the chances of me fulfilling the ambitions I have in life are zero. I will try and dedicate my weekends to football articles but I have to have a social life aswell. I don't want to rush any articles that I write as I know if I do, the standard of my work will go down.

Thankyou.

West Ham United vs Manchester United: Match Report.

Teams:

West Ham United- Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, Potts, Diarra, Nolan, Collison, Joe Cole, Vaz Te, C.Cole.
Subs-  Spiegel, Reid, Jarvis, Taylor, Noble, Spence, Lee.

Manchester United- De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Buttner, Vidic, Scholes, Cleverley, Kagawa, Welbeck, Hernandez. 
Subs- Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Valencia, Giggs, Young, Van Persie, Macheda.

In the opening stages of the match, Manchester United dominated. West Ham barely got a touch of the ball in the first 5 minutes. However The Hammers gradually started working their way into the match; Carlton Cole forcing Paul Scholes to clear his header off the line after the 29 year old connected with an in-swinging corner from Jack Collison. After 20 minutes the match was fairly even.

Two minutes later Manchester United struck the first blow. Javier Hernandez setting up Tom Cleverley for the goal. The lead didn't last for long. 

West Ham vs Man United- The teams.

West Ham United team to play Manchester United- Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, Potts, Diarra, Nolan, Collison, Joe Cole, Vaz Te, C.Cole.
Subs- Spiegel, Reid, Jarvis, Taylor, Noble, Spence, Lee.

My Big Sam has set out a fairly strong side. Reid, Noble, O'Brien, Jarvis are rested for the game. I'm just going to pray that we get no injuries. Diarra has the chance to prove himself. Its also great to see Joe Cole making his second debut.

Manchester United- De Gea, Rafael, Evans, Smalling, Buttner, Vidic, Scholes, Cleverley, Kagawa, Welbeck, Hernandez. 
Subs- Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Valencia, Giggs, Young, Van Persie, Macheda.

I got 6 out of 11 right! If your wondering what im on about, check my Man United squad prediction by clicking on this link. Ferguson has set out a very strong side. I still stick by my prediction of 3-1. 

West Ham United vs Manchester United: Match Preview

West Ham United vs Manchester United:
Today, West Ham United welcome Manchester United to Upton Park in their third round FA Cup fixture. Here's a little look into the tie.

I will start with the home team, West Ham.

After picking up 4 points out of a possible 15 in December, West Ham started 2013 with a 2-1 win over Norwich. A win today would boost confidence and team morale. It will be interesting to see what kind of side Big Sam puts out. I would like to see a few first team players put in the squad, mixed with our youngsters.


Here's the team that I would like to see West Ham field.

Tomkins isnt getting much game time; neither is O'Neill with Collison coming back. I think Vaz Te will come off the bench in the last half an hour as he is gradually returning from injury. I see today as a chance for our youngsters to show off their talent.

Moving on to the away side...

Manchester United:
Manchester United are currently on a 10 game unbeaten run (ncludes all competitions), their last defeat was a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray at Old Trafford on the 20th November 2012. Since then they've won 7 of their 8 Premier League games. In the 2012-13 Premier League only Everton, Tottenham and Norwich have beaten them and were 21 games into the season. I can see Alex Ferguson setting out a very strong side, with a few reserves in the mix. Here's what I think Manchester United's starting XI will look like.

A mix of youth and experience. In this team, goals can come from all around the pitch. If Manchester United need a goal, I reckon' Van Persie and Valencia will be brought on. Them two players can change a game with one moment of magic. Even with this starting XI, there's quality all over the pitch. 

Match Prediction:
West Ham United 1-3 Manchester United. 
I never get any predictions correct so this is pointless but its still worth putting here incase I get it right ;)

The game is LIVE on ITV1; Kick off is at 17:15. If you are going to the match, I wish you a safe journey too and from the stadium.

As always, thanks for reading. If you would like to suggest a topic that I can write something about, send me a tweet or an email and I will consider it. Twitter: @samwhufcfrancis - Email: sam11sf@live.co.uk

This Weekend's FA Cup Fixtures

All kicks offs are 3pm unless stated:

Today:

Brighton v Newcastle (12:30)  
Aldershot v Rotherham  
Aston Villa v Ipswich
Barnsley v Burnley
Blackburn v Bristol City  
Bolton v Sunderland
Crystal Palace v Stoke
Derby v Tranmere
Fulham v Blackpool
Hull v Leyton Orient  
Leeds United v Birmingham
Leicester v Burton Albion
Luton v Wolves  
Macclesfield v Cardiff
Man City v Watford
Middlesbrough v Hastings Utd
Millwall v Preston  
Nottm Forest v Oldham
Peterborough v Norwich
QPR v West Brom  
Sheff Wed v MK Dons
Southampton v Chelsea
Southend v Brentford
Tottenham v Coventry
Wigan v Bournemouth  
West Ham v Man Utd (17:15)

Tomorrow:
Swansea v Arsenal (13:30)
Mansfield v Liverpool (16:00)

Monday:
Cheltenham v Everton (19:45)

Potential shocks:  
Brighton win against Newcastle at the Amex.
Ipswich win away at Villa.
Macclesfield beat Cardiff.
Isthmian Premier League side Hastings United get a draw/win away to Middlesbrough.
Luton win at home to Wolves.

West Ham United: Our Defence.

Basically, I'm about to moan about our defence. I don't moan all the way through. Excuse me if it isn't structured very well, I just wanted to let all my feelings out.

First of all I would like to know why Sam Allardyce starts James Collins instead of James Tomkins. I have a number of reason's why Tomkins should start instead of Collins:
1- James Tomkins is reliable. I don't think Collins is.
2- James Collins has cost us at least 9 points already this season. If Tomkins had played the same amount of games as Collins that figure would be lower and that's a fact.
3- When Tomkins plays, he passes it around the defence and into the midfield. Collins hoofs it up field which leads to us losing possession  By the time we get it back, we'll be getting the game back underway after conceding a goal.
4- Tomkins gets forward and scores. Collins doesn't.
5- The only decent thing about Collins is that he's good at blocking shots. Tomkins can do more things and can do them things better than Collins.

Possible new defensive arrivals:
Danny Simpson (Right back)
Stephen Warnock (Left back)
Martin Olsson (Left back)
Douglas (Centre back)

The full backs are not a problem but Douglas is. If he came in, we would have four centre backs. Four centre backs capable of being in the Starting XI. Having four centre backs would mean that one of them would have to go out on loan or even on a permanent so they can play football. I fear that out of Collins, Tomkins and Reid; Tomkins will be the one sold. Reid obviously won't be sold as he's our best defender but Tomkins might as Allardyce prefers Collins. Very few people, if any, would agree with the decision to sell/loan Tomkins. Hopefully fan power would stop that happening if the situation come around. 

Im going to stop moaning for a minute and give credit to Winston Reid. The New Zealander was amazing last season and has taken the step up to the Premier League in his stride. He is so underrated its unreal and I feel that he deserves more credit from the football world. He's currently 24. I hope that in 15 years he is still doing his amazing work in our defence. With James Tomkins of course ;)

Moving on...
This is what I would like to see happen this month. This only concerns our defence and the defensive players that we have been linked with so far. 

IN: Stephen Warnock, Martin Olsson & Danny Simpson. 
Why?- This would give Big Sam a bit more choice at the back. We will have O'Brien, McCartney, Demel, Warnock, Olsson & Simpson as full back options. This means that we would have plenty of competition for the two full back positions. Therefore 6 of them perform better as they know if they under perform in a match they will be warming the bench. I wouldn't mind seeing Demel and McCartney leave if I was honest. The only good thing I see in Demel is his strength and McCartney would be outshone by the new arrivals. 

OUT: James Collins.
If we signed Douglas I would like to see James Collins leave. I do not rate Collins at all as you've probably realised by now. We would be getting rid of a defender that is prone to making mistakes. Four centre backs would also be too many unless one got injured. Id like to see Collins leave on a loan so if one of our centre backs got injured we could recall him. I've already mentioned half of this, I just felt the need to repeat it.  

IN: Douglas.
Douglas sounds like a fantastic defender. He's tall and looks very strong. He's also 24, 5 years younger than Collins. I haven't got much more to say about him as I've never seen him play. I hadn't even heard of him before rumours of him joining us surfaced.

This is how I would like to see our defence look after the January Transfer Window.

Left Back- Olsson.
Centre Back- Tomkins
Centre Back- Reid
Right Back- Simpson/O'Brien (The competition between them two for that place would be interesting!)

Rant over.

Sorry if this piece of work was a complete mess. I was just expressing my opinion. I understand that many of you will disagree with what I've said but I'm not bothered about gaining friends by going along with what everyone else says; id rather express my opinions, not bothering about gaining any friends from it. 

Thanks for reading. I want to know YOUR thoughts on this matter so please get in contact with me. Twitter: @samwhufcfrancis - Email: sam11sf@live.co.uk

West Ham Rumours (4/1/13) - My Thoughts

Here's a few rumours that I've heard today.

In:

Martin Olsson
Player Profile-
Age: 24
Position(s): Left Back/Left Wing
Nationality: Sweden
Current club: Blackburn
Previous club(s): Hogaborgs BK (youth)
International appearances & (goals): 14 (4)

My opinion- Martin Olsson would be an excellent addition to our squad. The Swede is a left back who likes to attack. I can see him and Jarvis linking up well down the left. Olsson is also very quick so would have the pace to get back if he pushes forward. Our team currently lacks pace, the only players i'd say are quick are Jarvis and Maiga. Sam Allarydce worked with Olsson in his time at Blackburn. The opportunity of Premier League football could convince Olsson to leave Blackburn and come to Upton Park.

Douglas

Player Profile-
Age: 24
Position(s): Centre back
Nationality: Brazil
Current club: FC Twente
Previous club(s): Joinville
International appearances & (goals): 0 (0)

My opinion- I haven't heard of Douglas before but from what I've read he sounds like a good player. Standing  tall at 6 ft 4, the centre back would dominate in the air and would be a big figure in our back line. Furthermore, he would stiffen our defence up a bit. However, there is a problem that I have forgotten to highlight in previous articles. Currently James Tomkins is not playing regularly as Sam Allardyce prefers to play James Collins instead. I disagree with this decision personally but I will save that rant for another day. With James Tomkins not playing regularly he could consider leaving; I don't even want to think about Tomkins leaving us.

Out:

James Tomkins
Player Profile- 
Age: 23
Position(s): Centre Back
Nationality: English
Previous club(s): Derby County (loan)
International appearances & (goals): 0 (0)
When he joined West Ham: 1997
Linked with: Newcastle (permanent)

My opinion- Even typing this hurts me. According to rumours James Tomkins would consider a move away from Upton Park if he doesn't start playing regularly. I'm not even going to go any further now as the possibility of Tomkins leaving saddens me.


Modibo Maiga (loan)
Player Profile- 
Age: 25 
Position: Striker/Winger
Nationality: Malian
Previous club(s): Stade Malien, Raja Casablanca, Le Mans, Sochaux 
International appearances & (goals): 31 (5)
When he joined West Ham: Summer 2012
Linked with: Marseille (loan), Newcastle (loan/permanent)

My opinion- Rumours are going around that Newcastle are interested in Modibo Maiga. I'm not going to go too far into this as I mentioned it yesterday. All I'm going to say is that a loan move would suit Maiga as I don't want to bore people who read yesterday's version of this article. 

Thanks for reading. Please give me feedback by Tweeting or Emailing me. Twitter: @samwhufcfrancis - Email: sam11sf@live.co.uk

Fans Thoughts On Maguire's Move To West Ham United

Earlier, I asked my Twitter followers what they think of the arrival of Sean Maguire. Here's what they had to say:

Good to see Allardyce investing in youth, just needs to start playing the likes of him and Rob Hall to expand. Their potential to the full, good signing and hoppe he gets a good chance.to prove himself to us. - @James_WHUFC (West Ham fan)

Could be a top player, but not yet. Give it a few seasons first, we've got a record of producing quality youth players and he's rated highly. Hopefully we can keep him! - @RyanWebster6 (West Ham fan)

I know Seani well, Hes a small quick skillful forward with great movement and an eye for goal. He was our top scorer last season. - @Jayoconnor8 (An Irish West Ham fan who watches Waterford occasionally)

Quick feet,explosive turn of pace,eyes only for goal, stronger than he looks. - @HannaBergkamp (Waterford United fan)

He seems like a very good player. A player that is very highly rated and as he's impressed on trial, one that could well feature in the near future. Everyone that has spoke about him, has praised him very highly. I'm very excited to see what he can do and pray he doesn't turn out to be another Sam Baldock, which I fear most. - @AranRyanNichol94 (West Ham fan)

West Ham Rumours (3/1/13) - My Thoughts

Here's a few rumours that I've heard today.

In:

Marouane Chamakh (loan) 
Player Profile-
Age: 28
Position: Striker 
Nationality: Born in France, but represents Morocco internationally
Current club: Arsenal
Previous club(s): Bordeaux.
International appearances & (goals): 61 (7)

My opinion- I think Chamakh will either be a great signing or a flop. I think a loan move with the option to buy would be a sensible move so if he turns out to be a great signing we can buy him and if he's a flop we can send him back to Arsenal.

Danny Simpson (permanent) 
Player Profile-
Age: 25
Position: Right back
Nationality: English
Current club: Newcastle United
Previous club(s): Manchester United, Royal Antwerp (loan), Sunderland (loan), Ipswich (loan), Blackburn (loan), Newcastle United (loan)
International appearances & (goals): 0 (0)

My opinion- I mentioned this player in the article I wrote named West Ham Ins And Outs Id Like To See In January. I would love to see Simpson grace the turf at Upton Park in a West Ham shirt. Hopefully this deal materializes and the right back makes the move down South.

Stephen Warnock (permanent) 
Player Profile-
Age: 31 
Position: Left back
Nationality: English 
Current club: Aston Villa but has spent the first half of the 2012-13 season on loan at Bolton
Previous club(s): Liverpool, Bradford (loan), Coventry (loan), Blackburn
International appearances & (goals): 2 (0)

My opinion- I've seen Stephen play for Villa before and I was impressed by his performance. I think he's a solid left back who regularly puts in good performances. I can see this being a wise move from Big Sam. I didn't see this move coming at all; a welcome surprise I suppose.

Out:

Maiga (loan)
Player Profile-
Age: 25 
Position: Striker/Winger
Nationality: Malian
Previous club(s): Stade Malien, Raja Casablanca, Le Mans, Sochaux 
International appearances & (goals): 31 (5)
When he joined West Ham: Summer 2012
Linked with: Marseille (loan)

My opinion- I mentioned in my article West Ham Ins And Outs Id Like To See In January that I would like to see him go out on loan to get some more game time then come back in the summer. I still think that this would be a wise move so I would like to see it happen.

So that's the players that I have heard about us being linked to today. If there are any more rumors about players joining/leaving us tomorrow I will be back with another article similar to this, tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading. Feel free to give me feedback by Tweeting or Emailing me. Twitter: @samwhufcfrancis - Email: sam11sf@live.co.uk

Sean Maguire- My Opinion.

Sean Maguire-

Age: 18
Height: 5 ft 9
Previous club(s): Waterford United
Nationality: Republic Of Ireland
Made his debut for Republic of Ireland U19's in September 2012


My opinion:

From what I've read, Sean Maguire sounds like an excellent young player who is full of potential. Now he's at West Ham our youth coaches will help him make big strides forward; in the right direction. Since he's only 18 he still has another 20 years ahead of him. I hope that in 4-5 years we will see him in our first team, fulfilling his potential. If he does become a major talent we need to do everything we can to keep hold of him. Hopefully today is the day that he starts a long, successful career at West Ham. 

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

Sean Maguire (blue) playing for Waterford United

Maguire was out of contract at The Blues. Both clubs have agreed a compensation package for the Airtricity League side.

Here's what Sean had to say about his move to West Ham United:

"Here I am now at West Ham and it's a dream come true really. People tend to say my best trait is my movement so hopefully I can show that here. I haven't been told yet which squad I will be in but I presume I'll be going into the reserves so I'll try to work my way up like I did at Waterford."

Waterford's Chairman spoke positively about Maguire. Here's what he told BBC Sport:

Waterford chairman John O'Sullivan: "I'm a great fan of Lionel Messi at Barcelona. When I look at Seanie, he really reminds me of him.
"He added: "Seanie has the same kind of balance, burst of speed and he's powerful on the ball.""If Seanie keeps progressing the way he is, it won't be long before he's getting first team football at West Ham. There is no question whatsoever he will be a star one day for the Republic Of Ireland."

I want to know YOUR opinion on the signing of Sean Maguire. Tweet or Email me your opinion and I will put it on here! Twitter: @samwhufcfrancis - Email: sam11sf@live.co.uk