Archive for May, 2023
Finale ! Praha !
West Ham through to first major European final for 47 years
What a night! First European final in 47 years and first cup final since 2006! Now let’s go and win it in Prague!
Match details
AZ Alkmaar (4-2-3-1): Ryan 5; Sugawara 5, Beukema 6, Hatzidiakos 6, Kerkez 6 (M de Wit 85); Reijnders 6, Clasie 6; Van Brederode 5 (Lahdo 78), Mijnans 6 (D de Wit 70), Karlsson 5 (Meerdink 85); Pavlidis 5.
Subs: Verhulst (g), Deen (g), Mihailovic, Bazoer, Vanheusden, Buurmeester, Goes.
West Ham United (4-2-3-1): Areola 7; Kehrer 7, Zouma 7, Aguerd 8, Cresswell 7; Soucek 6, Rice 7; Bowen 6, Paqueta 7 (Downes 90+5), Benrahma 5 (Fornals 74); Antonio 6 (Ings 85).
Subs: Fabianski (g), Anang (g), Johnson, Coufal, Lanzini, Cornet, Ogbonna, Palmieri, mMubama.
Booked: Soucek, Kehrer.
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia).
Tonight’s the Night …
… for the next step further to European glory.
Andy Carroll in Amsterdam on his way to the semifinal ▶️ https://fb.watch/kEgixehUPf/ and ⬇️ in the stadium at Alkmaar
Second Leg Looming
On Thursday it’s now or never for West Ham United. The Hammers have waited 47 years to play in a European final once again, and it’s 58 years since they won the European Cup Winners‘ Cup in 1965. Leading 2-1 from the first leg of the Conference League semifinal against AZ Alkmaar, the tie is in West Ham’s control. RapidHammer is looking back to a similar situation twelve years ago when the Hammers had also won the first leg of a semifinal tie 2-1 and were about to make it to a Cup final. But with West Ham you never know…
Hammers Social Club next to Upton Park (2011)
The games I am timidly looking back to are not last year’s Europa League semifinal matches but a domestic two legged semifinal in 2011, because last season in the Europa League West Ham were trailing a 1-2 deficit from the first leg. They also lost the second leg away to Eintracht Frankfurt and could not get to the final, contrary to the Cup Winners’ Cup of 1975/76, when West Ham overcame Frankfurt at semifinal stage. The opportunity was wasted last year, would the Hammers get another chance to progress to a Cup final any time soon or would they have to wait again for years?
As it turned out in this strangest of seasons in which West Ham like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hide have been around the Premier League’s relegation spots much too long but are unbeaten in all of their European games (10 W 1 D), the wait was only 12 months, not an other eleven or twelve or even 47 years. And though it’s only the less prestigious Conference League this time, being successful on the second attempt one year later would be a perfect script.
It isn’t an unusual proceeding in football that a team that has failed on their first trying, does win the competition in the next year! There are fringe benefits of failure, defeat can teach you a lesson and make you stronger. Remember Bayern Munich that lost their „Finale dahoam“ and were beaten on penalties by Chelsea in 2012, but won the Champions League the next season with a 2-1 over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. I‘m sure some more examples will come to your mind…
Reaching a semifinal the second year running gives West Ham the chance to make amends for last year‘s defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt and also for this season’s disappointing Premier League campaign.
The Telegraph described the first leg of the semifinal against AZ Alkmaar, which West Ham won 2-1 after being 0-1 down at halftime, as “a night of angst and drama in east London”, but in contrast to last year when the first leg was lost 1-2, this semifinal tie is in West Ham’s control, and deservedly so. The Hammers haven’t lost any of their European games this season and now a draw at Alkmaar would be enough to reach the final.
As said above, it is 47 years since the last final which West Ham reached in continental competition when the Hammers played Anderlecht in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976.
In the domestic cups, the last final in which West Ham played was the FA Cup Final in 2006 which the Hammers reached by beating Middlesbrough in the semifinal at Villa Park with the only goal scored by Marlon Harewood. The final (which was not played at Wembley, but in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff) was lost on penalties against Liverpool after a dramatic 3-3 draw a.e.t. The last silverware won by the Hammers was the FA Cup 1980 when they beat Arsenal 1-0 thanks to Trevor Brookings’s famous header.
The latest chance to reach a domestic cup final came in 2011 with the League Cup semi when West Ham played against Birmingham. Back in 2011, the situation was not unalike the current one as the Irons were struggling in the Premier League, but had excelled in their cup ties so far, beating Manchester Utd 4-0 in the quarter-final at Upton Park.
After this pleasant result I decided to travel to east London in January 2011 to watch the first leg of the semifinal tie against the Blues at Upton Park. I witnessed a narrow 2-1 win under the lights, and I remember very well celebrating this win and the goals by Mark Noble and Carlton Cole with my friends from the the then popular website “Football United” at the “Hammers Social Club” (WHU Supporters Club) next door to the Boleyn Ground. But I also remember the supporter sitting next to me in the ground saying that he feared a one-goal-lead would not be enough…
Twelve years later the score from the first leg in the Conference League is the same as the one from January 11th, 2011. And what happened two weeks later when the away tie was played at St Andrew’s in Birmingham?
West Ham played well in the first half and looked on course for victory when Carlton Cole’s spectacular strike gave them an interval lead and extended their advantage in the tie. But in the second half the Hammers crumbled, ex-Hammer Lee Bowyer levelled the game on the night scoring in the 59th minute, and Roger Johnson’s powerful header 11 minutes from the end of normal time restored equality to the semifinal. The tie went to extra time, and only four minutes into the extra period Birmingham’s Craig Gardner who had already struck the woodwork twice, was the hero at St Andrew’s with another low drive that keeper Rob Green was powerless to prevent going in. The Hammers couldn’t score within extra time and eventually lost 1-3, wasting their advantage from the first leg and their lead at the interval of the second game.
Let’s hope that twelve years later history will not repeat itself. AZ Alkmaar is said to be a strong team especially at home, but the boys of Moyes have been looking to write their own chapter in recent years and, after falling short at this stage of the Europa League last season, they will hopefully play with a visible determination to go one further, at least, this time around and not get overwhelmed by the occasion.
Moyes had rested Paquetá, Rice, Zouma, Antonio and other important players in this weekend’s game against Brentford, making nine chances from Thursday’s European cup game. The match against Brentford was always going to be a tough contest against a Bees side which has done very well this season. Brentford had already beaten the Hammers at their ground, and in the reverse fixture it soon was crystal clear that, while West Ham’s team of fringe players were struggling, the west London side was able to cope with the absence of their best striker Ivan Toney and would gain maximum points that season against their East-end opponents.
For West Ham though the defeat scarcely seemed to matter. Indeed, perhaps the most concerning aspect of West Ham’s afternoon came with news that Michail Antonio has a calf injury, seemingly making him a major doubt for next Thursday’s clash with AZ Alkmaar.
Paquetá and his fellow Hammers will have to play like they did in this clip below last Thursday, and David Moyes has to get his match plan right and resist the temptation to sit back and just go for a draw.
Regarding the Premier League, West Ham still is not mathematically safe from relegation threats. With two games to go Southampton is already relegated, but it’s not entirely impossible that Leeds United sitting currently in 18th (with Sam Allardyce as their third manager this season in a desperate attempt to safe them from relegation) as well as 19th ranked Leicester City with a game in hand could leapfrog the Hammers if they beat them in the remaining games in which the Hammers play both Leeds and Leicester.
However the odds aren’t good for Leicester having to play Liverpool and Newcastle next. Before they host West Ham in their last game of the season, the Blues could already be relegated.
I think it is more likely that Leeds avoid the drop. Apart of West Ham away next Sunday, Big Sam’s team has to play Tottenham a week later. Spurs aren’t doing well in the second half of the season and after Antonio Conte’s departure they are likely to miss out on securing a European spot. With Nottingham Forest and Everton still in Leicester’s and Leeds’s reach the relegation battle is probably not going to be decided before the last round of the season.
Well, when we are going into West Ham’s last two Premier League games of 2022/23, we will already know if the Hammers are able to play a third match before the season ends. This would require defending their lead from the first semifinal leg next Thursday. Let’s hope that on Thursday – much contrary to their tie against Birmingham in 2011 when a 2-1 was not enough to reach the final of the League Cup – the Hammers will rise to the occasion and keep their unbeaten record in all the continental games of this season. Then the last game of the season would not be Leicester away, but the Conference League final in Prague.
Come on you Irons!
Hammers Social Club after the demolition of the Boleyn Ground (2017)
An other version of this article has been posted on ▶️West Ham Till I Die: Now or never for West Ham
West Ham lead!
West Ham have come from behind to lead AZ Alkmaar 2-1 after the first leg of the Conference League semifinal.
Goals: Reijnders; Benrahma (pen), Antonio.
Come on you Irons!
Nur noch drei PL-Runden
Nach dem Krönungswochenende mit der Krönung am Samstag und dem Coronatian Concert in Windsor am Sonntag gab es einen Bank Holiday am Montag, an dem drei Spiele in der Premier League und die letzten Runden in Championship und League Two gespielt wurden.
Dramatik in der Championship
Millwall verpasste an diesem dramatischen Spieltag durch eine 3:4-Heimnederlage trotz einer 3:1-Halbzeitführung gegen Blackburn Rovers noch das Aufstiegs-Playoff, in dem nun Sunderland nach einem 3:0-Auswärtssieg gegen Preston Northend steht. Damit könnten die „Black Cats“ unter ihrem am Saisonbeginn neu engagierten Manager Tony Mowbray nach ihren beiden Abstiegen, bei denen man in der Serie “Sunderland Til‘ I Die“ via Netflix mitleiden konnte, sogar in die Premier League zurückzukehren. Dazu müsste aber zunächst Luton Town und anschließend der Sieger aus Middlesbrough vs. Coventry besiegt werden.
Torfestival in der PL
In der Premier League fielen am Montag Abend 21 Tore in nur drei Spielen. Nottingham Forest und Everton konnten die Relegationsränge verlassen: 4:3 siegte Nottingham Forest gegen den fast schon fixen Absteiger Southampton, und Everton bezwang Brighton im Auswärtsspiel mit dem unglaublichen Score von 5:1.
Der FC Leicester klebt hingegen auf einem Abstiegsplatz fest und könnte damit sieben Jahre nach dem sensationellen Meistertitel 2015/16 absteigen. Leeds United, das Ex-West Ham-Coach Sam Allardyce als dritten Manager in dieser Saison engagiert hat, kämpft mit den Toffees, Nottingham und Leicester dagegen an, neben Southampton in die Championship abzusteigen, aus der Burnley (mit Manager Vincent Kompany) und Sheffield Utd. (Paul Heckingbottom) aufsteigen werden.
“Three out of five”, heißt es jetzt im Abstiegskampf, denn West Ham hat nach einem 1:0-Sieg über Manchester Utd. (Tor: Benrahma) nun schon sieben Punkte Vorsprung auf den 16. und 17. Platz und sollte damit eigentlich so gut wie “safe” sein. Es war in dieser „durchwachsenen“, mühsamen Saison der erste volle Erfolg gegen ein “top six team”. Die Hammers könnten also endlich ihre gute Form gefunden haben, die Neuerwerbungen dürften schlussendlich integriert sein und bei einigen Schlüsselspielern wie Soucek vielleicht auch die Form wieder besser geworden sein. Der Einsatz stimmt und die Erfolgskurve zeigt nach oben. Der Abstieg ist mit 37 Punkten und ausstehenden Spielen gegen Brentford, Leeds und Leicester wohl endgültig abgewendet, sodass man sich nun voll auf die „Mission Conference League Finale“ konzentrieren kann! Am Donnerstag steht das Heimspiel gegen AZ Alkmaar auf dem Programm.
Coronation Day
The first coronation in 70 years is to take place on Saturday, 6 May, with King Charles III and the Queen Consort preparing for their historic carriage ride to Westminster Abbey.
Charles became king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms in September 2022, when his mother Elizabeth died after 70 years on the throne. Born on 14 November 1948, Charles III will be the oldest king to be crowned in the history of the United Kingdom.
On the eve of the Coronation, London landmarks were lit up with projections to mark the event. This will be tthe 40th coronation to take place at Westminster Abbey since 1066.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will preside over the service, with 100 heads of state set to attend. The Coronation service will last almost two hours. It will be seen first-hand by 2,300 guests, including Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, who arrived from the United States on Friday on a commercial flight.
It will be the first time since the release of Prince Harry’s memoir that he will have been seen in public with his brother, Prince William, the Prince of Wales.
The Archbishop of Canterbury said that the coronation service would “recognise and celebrate tradition” as well as contain “new elements that reflect the diversity of our contemporary society”.
The keynote message of the Coronation from King Charles is in his first prayer when he reaches the Abbey reads: “I come not to be served, but to serve.”
The ceremony will emphasise diversity and inclusion, with more multi-faith elements than any previous coronation, with contributions from Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh representatives.
A Bible lesson will be read by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is Hindu, and music will be sung in Welsh and Scottish and Irish Gaelic.
There will be women bishops taking part in the service for the first time in a coronation service that goes back almost a thousand years.
As hundreds of people have a part to play, the Lord President of the Privy Council, Penny Mordaunt, a Conservative MP, will become the first woman in history to present the intricate, tapered, priceless Sword of Offering or Sword of State, one of the British Crown Jewels, which was made for George IV’s coronation in 1821. It is a symbol of the protection of good and the punishment of evil and is seen as a metaphor for defence, advocacy and justice.
The sword will be blessed by the Archbishop of Canterbury before Ms Mordaunt will carry it to the King and place it in his right hand.
After that, Charles will offer the sword at the alter, where it will be received by the Dean and redeemed with the offering of 100 newly minted 50p coins. And after that, the sword goes right back to Mordant, who has the task to carry it before the King for the remainder of the ceremony.
There are more swords going to be used for the purposes of the coronation ceremony, including the swords of state (symbolising royal authority), mercy (which has a blunted tip), spiritual justice and temporal justice.
The high point of the ceremony will come when the St Edward’s Crown which has been used during the coronations of English and British monarchs since the 13th Century. is placed on the King’s head, a moment that will be marked by the Abbey bells being rung and a gun salute in nearby Horse Guards Parade.
Despite the aforementioned changes designed to reflect other faiths, the three oaths the King will take and form the heart of the service remain unchanged, including the promise to maintain “the Protestant Reformed Religion”.
However, the Archbishop of Canterbury will say beforehand that the Church of England will seek to create an environment where “people of all faiths and beliefs may live freely”.
“The religious and cultural context of the 17th Century was very different to today’s contemporary, multi-faith Britain,” a Lambeth Palace spokesperson said. “So, for the first time there will be a preface to the Oath.”
The BBC’s religion editor Aleem Maqbool said that it may appear a neat solution to leave the oaths unchanged and have the Archbishop of Canterbury express that forward-looking sentiment, but progressives will be left wondering why the protection of the practice of all beliefs could not be part of the oral contract with the nation that the King enters into.
Homage of the people
The public will be given an active role in the ceremony for the first time, with people around the world set to be asked to cry out and swear allegiance to the King. There has been controversy over asking people at home to pledge their allegiance to the King.
The Church of England has made clear this is entirely optional and people might instead have a “private moment of reflection”.
This “homage of the people” replaces the traditional “homage of peers” where hereditary peers swear allegiance to the new monarch. Instead everyone in the Abbey and watching at home will be invited to pay homage in what Lambeth Palace described as a “chorus of millions”. The removal of this helps to reduce the length of the service, which is now two hours – instead of around three as it was at the late Queen’s coronation.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will say: “I now invite those who wish to offer their support to do so, with a moment of private reflection, by joining in saying ‘God save King Charles’ at the end, or for those with the words before them, to recite them in full“:
“I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.”
It will be followed by the playing of a fanfare.
The Archbishop of Canterbury will then proclaim “God save the King”, with all asked to respond: “God save King Charles. Long live King Charles. May the King live forever.”
A spokesman for Lambeth Palace, the archbishop’s office, said: “The homage of the people is particularly exciting because that’s brand new.” The new Homage of the People was introduced to allow “a chorus of millions of voices” to be “enabled for the first time in history to participate in this solemn and joyful moment”, Lambeth Palace said.
“That’s something that we can share in because of technological advances, so not just the people in the Abbey, but people who are online, on television, who are listening, and who are gathered in parks, at big screens and churches.
“Our hope is at that point, when the Archbishop invites people to join in, that people wherever they are, if they’re watching at home on their own, watching the telly, will say it out loud – this sense of a great cry around the nation and around the world of support for the King.”
After the service, at around 13:00 BST, King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel in the Gold State Coach back to Buckingham Palace, in a spectacular mile-long (1.6km) procession, with 4,000 soldiers and 19 military bands.
Despite forecasts of rain, crowds have already gathered on the procession route. As the sun set on Friday, hundreds of tents had appeared, with those gathered hoping to witness the historic event.
Meticulous rehearsals for the procession were carried out by marching around a replica route with landmarks such as the Cenotaph marked out with traffic cones.
When they reach the Palace, it remains uncertain who will be seen with the King and Queen for the traditional balcony appearance.
There are plans for a flypast when the senior royals are on the Palace balcony, but there will be concerns about the weather, with a forecast for cloud and showers.
God save the King!
Ruhe nach dem SK Sturm
EXTRA TIME 
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