Archive for June, 2020
New Home Kit Revealed
West Ham revealed the 2020/21 Commemorative 125th Anniversary home kit and extended their partnership with Umbro as Official Technical Partner. The new kit will come with white shorts and white socks.
The kit’s design reminds us of the Club’s greatest period, which saw the foundation of the world-famous Academy of Football, FA Cup win (1964) and European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph (1965) and also three Hammers lead England to FIFA World Cup glory in 1966 when “West Ham beat West Germany”.
I am very happy with the return of white shorts and socks. I could never warm to the all-claret lower body of our players this season.
I hope the players will be able to sport the new kit in the first tier of English football next season, and that we will be able to watch them from the stands, but who knows?
Come on you Irons!
Read more:
https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/june/29-june/west-ham-united-reveal-commemorative-125th-anniversary-umbro-home
https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/june/29-june/west-ham-united-extends-partnership-umbro-official-technical
50GreatestMatches – #1 West Ham United 2-0 TSV 1860 Munich
When will we meet again?
Last season we managed to travel to London several times, and in the end we watched four wins out of five games and only one defeat in manager Manuel Pellegrini’s first season with West Ham Utd.
Like almost everybody I had been optimistic that things would get even better this term as the team had played some really good attacking football last season which had been dubbed a “transitional” one. But like we all now know, things at West Ham and in the Premier League have developed very differently from what we expected back last summer.
When we came to London in November for the game against Newcastle Utd., West Ham’s win over Manchester Utd. back in September had remained the Club’s last win of this season so far and six weeks had passed since this game in which the Hammers had not managed to win a single match. The long-term injury of talismanic goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for whom Pellegrini had failed to sign suitable cover had really cost us dearly, and of course Marko Arnautovic who had left the Club for Chinese money was also missed. His successor in West Ham’s attack, Sebastien Haller, would still take some time to adjust to the English game!
Newcastle was in the relegation zone before the game against West Ham, so this match seemed an almost perfect occasion to get back to winning ways. However, we know that West Ham quite often is also seen by their opponents as a starting point for a revival gifting them “first wins” to leave a losing streak behind.
And that’s exactly what happened: West Ham went behind 0-2 before halftime, had absolutely no clue how to deal with the quick Newcastle attacking play, and finally conceded a third goal after the interval. A late West Ham rally wasn’t enough and they lost 2-3.
Unfortunately it took West Ham until the end of this month to win again, a famous 1-0 away win at Chelsea with our third goalkeeper, David Martin, between the sticks. But in the end it was a short-lived upturn in fortune, and in the end Manuel Pellegrini had to leave and was replaced by David Moyes.
Our next trip to London was planned around the Wolves game on March 15, but this was the time the lockdown started in Austria and we decided to cancel our weekend in London.
When will we meet again in London and inside London Stadium?
West Ham’s greatest games
West Ham United celebrates its 125th anniversary on 29 June 2020 – and as part of these celebrations the Club’s 50 greatest matches are shown on West Ham‘s website. All of them, of course, were played in front of supporters, and they have sung the club anthem “Bubbles” since the 1920’s. Oh, how I miss these big crowds, since the coronavirus has stopped football and now condemned us to watch games on TV only, played behind closed doors since the restart! Scroll down to watch highlights and the full games of West Ham’s unforgettable Boleyn Ground finale in 2016 and of West Ham’s play-off win against Blackpool in 2012.
On 29th June, 1895, Arnold Hills, the managing director of the Thames Ironworks & Shipbuilding Company in east London, announced in his newspaper, the Thames Ironworks Gazette, that he intended to establish a football club. From 1904 to 2016 the Club, that was renamed “West Ham United” in 1900, played at their Upton Park Stadium also known as Boleyn Ground.
One of the #50GreatestMatches was of course the unforgettable Boleyn Ground finale in 2016. The last game at Upton Park was played on 10 May 2016.
Thames Iron Works’ first match was a friendly against Royal Ordinance on 7th September, 1895. The result was a 1-1 draw. This was followed by victories against Dartford, Manor Park, Streatham and Old St Stephens. Since 1895, when the Hammers were formed as Thames Ironworks FC, they have played in excess of 5,500 matches – reaching five FA Cup finals – and one women’s FA Cup final, lifting European silverware in 1966 and competing across the globe and enjoying thousands of memorable moments.
Thames Ironworks started to play in Oxford Blue (dark blue) shirts. Beginning from the 1897-98 season they began to use Cambridge Blue (light blue). The photographs of the Thames Iron Works taken in 1897 and 1899, although in black and white, show that the team continued to play in light blue shirts, combined with white shorts and scarlet socks.
Thames Iron Works was renamed West Ham United in September 1900. A team photograph taken that year suggested that the club had retained the light blue colours. According to club historian, John Helliar, on 14th September, 1901, West Ham “took to the field wearing their new colours of light blue jerseys, with a claret band, and white knickers with a red stripe.”
By the end of the 19th century or maybe as late as the 1903-04 season West Ham began to wear claret and blue shirts. In a very well known, but maybe not true story it is recounted that “in the summer of 1899 Bill Dove, a sprinter of national repute who was involved in coaching the Ironworks team, was challenged to a race with four Aston Villa players at a fair in Birmingham. Dove won but the Villa men could not pay the wager so one of them pinched a set of claret and blue shirts from his club (he was responsible for doing the laundry) to settle the bet.” is there any primary evidence of the club wearing these colours until the 1903-04 season. In 1904 West Ham moved to the Boleyn Ground.
From the 5,500 matches of which the Club has played the vast majority in claret & blue, the top 50 were chosen with the help of its supporters, the top 50 games, featuring landmark goals, trophies held aloft, heroic individual performances and remarkable collective efforts, and showed these highlights on the homepage.
One of the #50GreatestMatches was of course the unforgettable Boleyn Ground finale in 2016. Another one is West Ham’s win at Wembley in 2012 when the Club beat Blackburn to be promoted to the Premier League. The game was shown with Carlton Cole commentary by WHU TV during the lockdown.
Come on You Irons!
Britain is waking up
Over the past four months, pubs and restaurants around the country have faced their biggest challenge: they had to keep their doors closed and were only allowed to remain in business with takeaways or cooking for key workers. But now restaurants and pubs which have been closed from Friday, March 20, are allowed to reopen by July 4. Lock down is about to end. Cheers,🇬🇧!
Brentford, London
The time-honoured pursuit of relaxing in a sunny beer garden with a refreshing glass of ale, lager or wine is something used to be taken for granted, an essential part of any British summer. Not so in 2020. Pubs and restaurants were ordered to close their doors on Friday March 20, in the early, frightening days of a lockdown that would dominate the lives over the months that followed and has been much longer in the UK than in other countries. Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel and the Telegraph‘s cover story on Saturday is about the reopening of pubs and restaurants in Great Britain.
Infection rates have fallen, Britain’s alert level has switched from 4 to 3 and, this week, Boris Johnson has announced that the two-metre rule we’ve grown so accustomed to can now be replaced with a less restrictive “one metre plus” distancing recommendation. “Our long hibernation is coming to an end,” he told the Commons on Tuesday, as he explained that England’s pubs and restaurants could open their doors to customers once again on July 4.
Hackney, London
There are an estimated 27,000 pubs with beer gardens in the UK. Finally relaxing in a sunny beer garden will be allowed again. And also in-door restaurants that had suspended their service will be returning post-lockdown. The new rules allow customers to sit and enjoy their pints on-site (though not at the bar). Indoor hospitality will be limited to table service, meaning bar orders still won’t be an option.
Cheers, guys! The wait is over!
Enjoy!
Rules and guidelines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/pubs-and-bars/pubs-reopening-uk-guidelines-open-rules/
370 St John Street, London, EC1V 4NN
Liverpool are champions
Liverpool win Premier League: Reds’ 30-year wait for top-flight title ends with Manchester City losing at Chelsea.
It had seemed all but clear that in March the long wait would be over because of the large gap of 25 points between Liverpool and Manchester City, but then the coronavirus stopped the campaign and could have ruined Liverpool’s hope of winning the Premier League.
Finally football came back in June with Liverpool drawing 0-0 with Everton in their first game after the restart. They then went on to win 4-0 against Crystal Palace, meaning a draw or Chelsea win in their game against Manchester City on Thursday would cement the championship for the Reds, having played an incredibly dominant campaign this time around, in which they have won 28 of their 31 fixtures so far.
And when the final whistle went at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea beating Manchester City 2-1, there were scenes of jubilation outside Anfield, while a group of Liverpool players gathered to watch the game.
The title is Liverpool’s 19th and first since the 1989-90 season, when they won the First Division under Kenny Dalglish.
“I’m very pleased for everybody connected with the football club,” Dalglish told Sky Sports. “Jurgen has done a fantastic job. The highlight has been the camaraderie within the team and the way everyone has helped the team. Last night’s game (against Crystal Palace) was a huge example of that.“
In winning the league after just 31 games Liverpool have recorded the earliest Premier League victory by matches played, yet football’s 100-day suspension because of coronavirus means it is the latest success by date.
“We had to wait 13 weeks,” Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson said. “It was 13 long weeks with uncertainty but a lot of our fans had to wait 30 years so it was a short time compared to what they’ve had.
“It shows the character in the squad to get so close last time and to go again,” Liverpool midfielder James Milner told Match of the Day. “We have proven we are fuelled by disappointment and learning.”
And that’s what manager Jürgen Klopp had to say after winning the title last night:
Could have done without them…
West Ham returned to London Stadium more than 100 days after their last Premier League game (a 0-1 defeat against Arsenal away).
Well, I had missed PL football, but I could have done without this match… West Ham haven’t improved within these months, and they deservedly lost 0-2 to Wolves.
By the way: Hairdressers still aren’t allowed to work in the UK, and barbers are closed as well, as the pic of West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo (above) shows.
But there is hope for Boris and all the others having “bad hair days” every day now:
Hair dressers are expected to reopen from July 4 if the government feels the spread of coronavirus is under control.
As the government has already lowered the five-stage coronavirus alert level from 4 to 3 recently, shaggy haired Brits could get back to their coiffed best soon. However hair dressers will still have to wait until they are allowed to get cutting again.
And when will West Ham be able to get winning again?
Well, in variation of the famous song which Dame Vera Lynn (who sadly passed away these days aged 103) sung during wartime and Queen Elizabeth remembered in a speech on the virus:
“We will win again.”
I hope it’s not too late by then …
Links: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/11234166/when-hairdressers-barbers-reopen-uk?
End of lockdown in sight: http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/265/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/265/pub/265/page/2/article/53199
Premier League Restarts Tonight
It is almost 100 days since calling off all games which should have been played on the weekend that we would have been to London Stadium watching West Ham v Wolves if Corona had not hit the world. And now, the Premier League is back tonight with two initial games.
Aston Villa is going to face Sheffield United and Manchester City take on Arsenal. At last the Premier League joins Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain and other countries that have already resumed their football leagues. But as with life, there is uncertainty all around. Even uncertainty over what kind of football it will be after a break that lasted longer than the gap between last season and the start of this one.
It will be some kind of a “mini tournament” with a frenzy of 92 games in just 39 days until he end of July and with the FA Cup shoehorned in. There will be no margin for error, Jason Burt writes in The Telegraph. It will be a test of organisation and coaching and we will quickly see which clubs and managers have had a “good” lockdown with their preparations.
The only certainty is that Liverpool, with their 25-point advantage, will win a maiden Premier League title, and their first league crown since 1990. The fight for European places should be fascinating, and the relegation battle including six or maybe even eight clubs will surely go down to the wire.
I’m pleased that football returns tonight, and hope that West Ham will have been well prepared by David Moyes. We will know after tonight‘s Aston Villa game if the Hammers will start into the upcoming nine rounds in 16th or 17th place. With a home win over Sheffield Utd, Villa could leapfrog two of their opponents and get out of the relegation zone from which WHU is only separated by goal difference.
Anyway David Moyes’s men will have to hit the ground running when they commence the restarted campaign with tough matches against higher rated teams as Wolves, Spurs and Chelsea.
Come on you Irons!
All about the return of the game: ▶️The Premier League returns – all you need to know
Rashford 1 Government 0
… that was one of the headlines under which it was reported that now more than a million school children will be given vouchers for free meals over the summer following pressure from 22-year-old England footballer Marcus Rashford.
The Government has announced a new “Covid summer food fund” to cover the six-week summer holiday for children who qualify for free school meals, fending off a looming Tory MP rebellion which was expected in a vote on Tuesday, and easing the plight of the country’s most vulnerable children.
In what has been seen as a policy U-turn by ministers, about 1.3m children will now qualify for the new vouchers. The move came after Therese Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, was criticised for giving a “snarky” response to a tweet by Mr Rashford – who received free school meals himself and had written an open letter in The Times on this topic urging the government to provide for free meals during the summer holidays. “Ending child poverty is a bigger trophy than any in football,“ Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford wrote.
The motives behind Rashford’s fight against food poverty are indelibly linked to his own experiences growing up in Manchester, Northern Moor and neighbouring Wythenshawe as one of five children to a loving mother who worked full-time on minimum wage. Rashford’s mother Melanie worked long hours but it was not enough. The family were reliant on food banks, soup kitchens, the generosity of neighbours who would feed Rashford on those occasions when there was not an evening meal on the table and, of course, free school meals.
Rashford’s talent for football was first spotted on the Mersey Bank playing fields with local club, Fletcher Moss Rangers, and brought him to the attention of United, whose academy he joined at eight. Now he is the club’s leading scorer and talisman, and a key figure in Gareth Southgate’s England team. Furthermore the United and England striker has risen to become a very influential voice; an inspiration on and off the pitch; a young, black man proud of his inner city Manchester roots but not a system “designed to fail low-income families” as he so eloquently argued in his emotional open letter to MPs. Rashford’ partnership with FareShare, the food distribution charity, has helped to raise over £20 million to feed three million vulnerable people every week – and shame the Government into coughing up a £120m summer food fund.
Asked if he had lost touch with electorate, Mr Johnson said he had thanked the England star for his campaign – and claimed he only learned of it today.
The victory for Mr Rashford comes as figures laid bare the scale of the damage to the jobs market caused by the lockdown in the UK. Unemployment is rising faster than during the Great Depression. The North East has the highest unemployment rate. Click here to see the British regions hit hardest by the crisis.
Pay plunged in April at the fastest rate on record as a combination of the furlough scheme, wage freezes and cuts to bonuses demolished earnings.
EXTRA TIME 
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