Fellapen by Samu21213 1. Manchester City seem determined to make the title run-in as dull as possible. It's surely all over after their defeat to Everton. 2. Toffees midfielder Marouane Fellaini benefited from a little known by-law of the game whereby a penalty cannot be awarded for handball if any part of your hair is [.
West Ham are back in the Premier League after defeating Blackpool 2-1 at Wembley today in the
npower Championship play-off final.
Ian Holloway's Blackpool had much the better of the opening exchanges, with Matt Phillips
missing two chances, but it was West Ham who took the lead after Carlton Cole nicely controlled
Matt Taylor's pass and slotted the ball past Matt Gilks in the 34th minute.
Since the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spanish La Liga, the Premier League was searching for a
new world class player who could be as brilliant as the phenomenal Portuguese. Fernando Torres
threatened briefly until he started sulking more than scoring, Didier Drogba could never be that
star face as he is all brute force but Carlos Tevez could have been that world class marquee player
that the Barclays Premier League needed.
What are the odds Sven adds the Championship to his list of conquests? Derek McGovern's
Bets of the Day
West Ham fans will get their first glimpse of the style of football Sam Allardyce's team will
play when they kick off their season against Cardiff tomorrow. That's unless there's low cloud
cover over Upton Park.
After the news broke this lunch time on Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan's imminent medical at West
Ham, fans have once again been divided on Tyneside as to what they believe to be the truth behind
yet another astounding decision.
Despite Nolan rejecting a contract extension last week, this is a transfer that has taken
everybody by surprise.
West Ham go Route One back to Premier League - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Messrs. Gold and Sullivan have stumbled from bad decision to ludicrous decision since taking
over at West Ham but they may well have struck gold with the appointment of Big Sam. The quickest
form of transport is through the sky and that's why Allardyce's long ball football could provide
the Hammers with an instant return to the topflight.
Sam Allardyce has been named as the new manager of West Ham United, replacing Avram Grant, who
was sacked after the Hammers' relegation.
Allardyce comes into the position fully aware that several of the Hammers' big names, like Scott
Parker, Carlton Cole and Robert Green, will be sold this summer.
Word on the wire is that call-centre-chic enthusiast Sam Allardyce is all but set to be
appointed as West Ham's new manager at some point later today, with a £3 million, two-year
contract being mooted by most of the major news outlets this morning including the good old Beeb,
and why would they lie to us?
A serious question. Is there anything better in the Premier League than the battle to avoid
relegation? Just this past weekend, we saw two spectacular games featuring Blackpool against Bolton
and Wigan against West Ham. Fans of other leagues would...
Sacked manager Avram Grant has spoke of his "sad day" after seeing his West Ham United side
succumb to relegation. The Hammers have looked doomed for months during his time at the helm, and a
3-2 loss at the hands of Wigan on Sunday clinched the sacking of the former Chelsea boss.
Grant went as far as saying that it was the "saddest day" in his football career, a feeling that
will be rife amongst West Ham fans as they prepare for at least one season in the npower
Championship.
A long tradition in the English top flight means nothing these days, as it looks like time has
run out for the Upton Park faithful. As they arrived at Green Street today, they knew they had
three winnable games remaining, and a chance to save themselves after a very disappointing season.
Now after failing to beat Blackburn, the new management are heading for the Championship.
So Chelsea fans (and maybe West Ham fans for that matter possibly reading this) what are your early
thoughts on the game tomorrow?. I am thinking that Carlo has already indicated that he would rotate
the team so could it mean Anelka and Torres in for Drogba and Kalou/Malouda?. Could we see Yossi
Benayoun given a start and if he does who misses out.
The Carling Cup is still a much derided competition, scoffed at and labelled a 'Mickey Mouse' Cup.
And while I agree it doesn't have the charm of the FA Cup or the glamour of the Champions League,
that claim is usually made by those who are knocked out or see their reserve players play in [...]
One is a right-back who plays left-back, and has a talent of scoring against United, the
other is lead vocalist of British band Coldplay...and it just so happens that they look a
like...
Jonathan Spector is a player that raises questions most of which revolve around the notion that
he should not be playing in the Premier League.
Men behaving badly: Should players' off-pitch behaviour affect fans' support? is a post from:
Just Football
Football fans and morals. A thorny bush, as we've discussed before on Just
Football. But should we as supporters be ready to withhold our support for players whose
behaviour doesn't quite match our own standards or moral codes?
West Ham have announced they plan to retain manager Avram Grant – in the short-term at least
– after months of speculation over his future.
The Irons put out a statement in Grant's favour this morning insisting they were standing by
their current gaffer, despite the club lying bottom of the Prem with just four wins in their first
20 matches.
West Ham United's signing of left full back Wayne Bridge is undoubtedly a step in the right
direction. Its pleasing to see that a problematic area has now been covered. When West Ham were
linked with Steve Sidwell I was slightly baffled, although Sidwell is a decent player West Hams
strongest area this year has been the centre of midfield.
West Ham fans watching the new season of The Simpsons will see a surprise cameo appearance for their club. The episode ‘The Day The Earth Stood Cool' features a hipster family moving in next door to The Simpsons, including Hammers-supporting son T-Rex. Bart and Lisa visit T-Rex's bedroom, which features a West Ham banner hanging [.
A pocket of West Ham scumbags gave Nazi salute's and chanted ‘Viva Lazio', ‘Can we stab you every week?' and ‘Hitler's coming for you, you f**king Jews' at White Hart Lane as well as hissing after letting off a smoke bomb (to mimic Holocaust gas chambers) in the week after ten Tottenham fans were beaten senseless and knifed in Rome for nothing other than being fans of a historically Jewish football club.
Is Peter Risdale the man to bring Plymouth Argyle out of their slump?
For all you Birmingham and West Ham fans who are finding the thought of playing at a lower level
deplorable, that your finances will be stretched and your stature to lower, consider this – at
least you're not a Plymouth Argyle fan.
The newest Arsenal youngster to come through the ranks to be a star at the Emirates is our very own
Jack Wilshere, but he admitted today that he grew up as a West Ham fan and his boyhood hero was the
great Italian Paolo Di Canio. He said: "My family have always been West Ham fans, [...]
Back in the 2006/07 season West Ham found themselves in a similar position in the run up to
Christmas as they did this season. They were lingering down at the wrong end of the table and if
truth be told the spirit within the squad had evaporated. The season had started full of hope,
after the agonising defeat in the FA Cup to Liverpool in the final in the previous May West Ham
fans were looking for the club to push on and upwards.
Tottenham finally announced the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor yesterday but reaction among Spurs
fans seems to have been mixed. According to reports, the fee of £5m had been agreed between Spurs
and Manchester City some time ago but weeks of negotiations were needed in order to iron out
personal terms.
The idea of a soccer "derby" eluded me when I was younger. Not only because I heard it as a
"dArby", but also because American announcers would always make a point to distance it from our
petty little rivalries in the US. Derbies are a rivalry, but fueled by years of bad blood and
proximity - where immense soccer fervor allowed multiple teams to pop up within a few miles of each
other.
West Ham United have officially announced the signing of Mali international forward Modibo Maiga.
The 24-year-old joins the Hammers from French side FC Sochaux-Montbeliard for an undisclosed fee
believed to be in the region of £5million, putting pen to paper on a four-year contract with an
option for a further two years.
In the run up to Liverpool's trip to Wembley on Sunday for the Carling Cup final i thought it would
be nice to take a trip down memory lane and revisit the last time the Reds got to a final. Of
course Liverpool didn't reach Wembley this time but the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff provided
easily one of the best FA Cup finals ever.
A week after enduring one of his worst performances of the season, Clint Dempsey responded in a
big way.
Dempsey lifted Fulham to victory over Bolton Wanderes on Saturday, scoring a goal and assisting
on another in the 2-0 affair. Dempsey found the back of the net with a well-placed header before
sending Costa Rican teammate Bryan Ruiz in on goal with a nifty pass.
Sam Allardyce had been West Ham United's manager for precisely eight hours when
first notice of the funhouse he has taken over was served. While he was speaking live on Sky
Sports, news broke that Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian businessman who is team principle of Formula
One's Team Lotus, had tweeted to claim he had offered to buy the club from David Sullivan and David
Gold.
Twenty-three years ago today, a disaster occurred that would claim ninety-six lives, indelibly
alter the character of one of Britains great sporting institutions and change the face of football
in Britain forever. The Hillsborough disaster of 1989 had an indelible effect on both Liverpool
Football Club and British football in a wider sense, and to mark this years anniversary we have
asked some people for their recollections of that dreadful day.
Rumours are circulating this evening that West Ham co-owners
David Gold and David Sullivan have officially offered the vacant
manager's job to an interested applicant. At a meeting of the club's ‘Supporter Advisory Board'
tonight, the typically garrulous Sullivan is thought to have revealed to those in attendance that
he and Gold made the proposal and expect a definitive answer tomorrow.
One by one they walked off, the golden generation. Jermain Defoe shirtless; Joe Cole man of a match
he would never wish to remember; Paolo Di Canio staring straight ahead, perhaps contemplating his
pledge to commit suicide if West Ham were relegated.
I'm not sure what Jo Moore is doing these days but it's possible the former press officer has found
gainful employment as a special adviser deep in the bowels of the Boleyn. If ever there was a good
week to be smokescreening unpalatable news then it appears someone at E13 has calculated that now
is seemingly the time.
At the time of the US War of Independence in the 1770s the British soldiers wore redcoats. That
was so the blood wouldn't show on their scarlet uniforms if they got wounded. For similar reasons
the American rebels wore brown trousers.
As we enter the decisive final weeks of the season, with injury-weakened Manchester United
fighting for trophies on three fronts, I fear it's already gone beyond Sir Alex Ferguson's famous
'squeaky-bum time'.
We never can say goodbye: Or so it seems as two more players leave the Lane on loan, with a
permanent departure only a faint hope resting in the minds of the most deluded West Ham fans.
Robbie Keane packed his boot collection and headed across to Upton Park, where he will remain on
loan until the end of the season.
If you're looking for a thrill that's new
Take in Fords , Dartford Tunnel and the river too
Go motorin' on the A13
Pre-season games are not supposed to be like this. Usually these games are played in blazing
sunshine in front of shirt-sleeved fans, but this was strictly umbrellas, rainhoods and bovril as
the West Ham fans descended on rain-lashed Roots Hall for a trip to the seaside.
10 Cracking Own Goals - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Scoring an own goal is soul-destroying, confidence-shattering and altogether demoralising. If
you deflect a shot into your own net, convert a cross past your own goalkeeper or get the last
touch before your team concedes it is frustrating and annoying, but these ten are just down right
embarrassing.
'England have players who can rattle anyone's feathers': 3PM's Daft Quotes Of 2011, Part
1
Happy Christmas from everyone at MirrorFootball! To celebrate, here's part one of Steve
Anglesey's Daft Quotes Of The Year from his 3PM column. 'What's the biggest fox pass you've ever
made?
So Uncle Avram has indeed been winging it in English football all this time. West Ham's abject
capitulation at St Andrews last night confirmed what many of has had long-suspected: Grant doesn't
know what he's doing and admitted as much after the match, saying "I didn't know what to say to
them at half-time.
