“This match demonstrated why football is the world’s greatest game. It had everything – passion, skill, determination and total commitment.
Not one Iron left anything out there at all – they all ran to the last drop of sweat – we ask for nothing more.
Thank you West Ham – every one of you.”
West Ham 1 Liverpool 1 Goals: Antonio (assisted by a brilliant pass from a Felipe Anderson free-kick); Mané (blatant offside in the build-up)
Declan Rice, who had a bad game at the start of the season in the reverse fixture at Liverpool, put in again an imperious performance in midfield.
He told www.whufc.com: “Without a doubt, we were excellent. We missed some great chances, me included, and I was gutted with that, but I think you saw, to a man, we knew the shape, we worked hard, we got the point and it could have been all three.
“I think you saw us walking off the pitch, we were knackered, but that was the hard work we put in and the hard work we put in on the training field since the Wolves defeat.
We were disappointed not to pick up three points but we look forward to Palace now and we’ll try to go and pick up something there.
“The spirit is flying now and we need to push. Palace is going to be a tough place to go but we’re confident.”
For Rice, his assured display was surely redemption on a personal level too for the Anfield experience back in summer 2018.
This was the night that will be remembered when the younger West Ham generation relate their worst ever experiences to the next one. For me it is a second disaster within 6 weeks, because I already had to experience a similar humiliation with Rapid Vienna when they lost 1-6 against Austria Vienna before Christmas.
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini said his side’s 2-4 (0-2) defeat by AFC Wimbledon was a “disaster” as the League One side pulled off a stunning FA Cup shock to reach the fifth round.
The Dons, bottom of the third tier of English football, surged into a 3-0 lead against the Premier League side courtesy of Kwesi Appiah‘s deflected strike and Scott Wagstaff‘s double either side of half-time.
Pellegrini made a triple substitution at the break in an attempt to get back into the game and saw two of his changes – Lucas Perez (on for a really bad Andy Carroll) and Felipe Anderson (on for an also bad Pedro Obiang) – score to make it 3-2.
But AFC Wimbledon, who were beaten 3-0 at home by Fleetwood in their last league game on Tuesday, continued to push men forward and put the seal on a famous victory courtesy of Toby Sibbick‘s late close-range header, sparking scenes of jubilation among the home crowd and leaving Pellegrini furious, whereas Dons manager Wally Downes, a former assistant manager at West Ham, celebrated a famous win. “Thank you, my old friends at West Ham”, Downes (who worked as a defensive coach under Avram Grant and Sam Allardyce from 2010 to 2012) could say, “for giving my side a much needed boost”. Wimbledon are bottom of League One.
The only positive on a night to forget was that less than an hour after the game it emerged that Marko Arnautovic had signed a contract extension and told the West Ham faithful on the official site that he would give his all for West Ham in the upcoming matches against Wolves and Liverpool.
The technical ability, the understanding of the game and the shrewdness and guile of Arnie will be desperately needed when the Hammers want to put that horror show (starring in particular “Mr Clumsy” Andy Carroll) behind them. Pellegrini got the tactics wrong (again) against the Dons (as he had also done in the last game in the league against Bournemouth), and he shouldn’t play Andy Carroll ever again. This kind of forward is not suited to play in West Ham’s team as it has been set up tactically by Pelle. I opt for a frontline Arnie – Samir Nasri – Anderson; that one should work and bring back happiness to a club which apparently has disaster in his genes – no matter who’s the current manager.
Arnautovic: I want to stop the talking, I’m hungry to play and score more goals
In an unforeseen move Mr Marko Arnautović has told the West Ham fans that he will not leave the club in this transfer window.
On a day on which it was widely reported that Uruguayan forward Maxi Gomez from Celta de Vigo was on his way to London, Arnie announced on his Instagram account that he was going to stay at West Ham.
Well, I am ready to forgive him, call him “Arnie” again, and put this whole “Chinagate”, in which in my opinion his brother was the predominant driving figure, behind us.
Let’s hope Arnie soon will be in the right state of mind again to be in the match day squad, and will start scoring again. As I said in a previous article, Samir Nasri, Arnie and Felipe Anderson could be a real threat in West Ham’s attack, “three musketeers” that slice through the opponents’ defence and will give us a lot to applaud for!
Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande is reported to have pulled out of a £45m deal for West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic, claimsThe Daily Mail.
Arnautovic had been left out of the squad for West Ham’s 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Saturday. His brother Danijel had said that Arnie wanted to go to China “to win trophies”, which seem to have been in his mind’s eyes already and have distracted him from proper preparation for the away game against Bournemouth.
But now his and his brother’s attempt to transfer him for £35m or even£45m to Fabio Cannavaro’s Chinese side and bank wages in the region of £280,000-a-week seems to have failed as it is said that the Chinese Super League outfit pulled the plug on a deal on Saturday evening.
Now we’ll see if the Austrian player will be level-headed and professional enough to honour his contract with West Ham and wait for an other chance to sign a lucrative deal elsewhere in summer. As I have written a week ago, I don’t think he’ll go on strike, but it will be some task for manager Manuel Pellegrini to reintegrate the sometimes volatile Arnautovic back into the squad, and we’ll see if he can win over fans that he waved goodbye to at the London Stadium just over a week ago.
Well, I hope Arnie will prove his critics wrong and continue to play well at West Ham for the remainder of the season. Then, in the summer, he could leave with his head high, maybe for a better club than just some Chinese outfit.
Though I have to say that it’s really difficult to understand why anyone wanted to go to China when we all know West Ham have the best Rice? 😂 … and we all know that West Ham is an “exceptional club” (as Austrian newspaper KURIER admitted in an article on the Arnautovic saga on Sunday).
With their big, world wide fanbase and an attendance of 57,000 in every single match at the London Stadium (a capacity which could rise to 60,000 in the near future) they really are a special club and there are just nine clubs in Europe that entertain a bigger crowd in their home games.
Let’s hope we’ll see Arnautovic back in a claret and blue shirt in front of these dedicated support, home and away, within the next weeks. Next game is the away tie against Wimbledon in the FA Cup, a trophy West Ham could still win with Arnie this season!
We came over from Austria last weekend and were able to watch an other game in the London Stadium. Well, I love coming to London, and it seems West Ham does appreciate my presence too, because all of the last three games I was able to attend this season have been wins for the Irons!
This weekend also would have been the right time “to have a word” with my compatriot who doesn’t seem to be so enthusiastic anymore about staying in London as I am. But unfortunately immediately after the game Arnie left for Vienna, whereas we’re going to stay in London until Tuesday!
Witnessing history
Well, it seems the games that I have picked for my visits to the London Stadium since West Ham’s move to Stratford, are frequently going to be remembered for something special: Last season I watched Slaven Bilic’s last game and Marko Arnautovic’s first goal there. This season I’ve already witnessed Felipe Anderson’s first brace for the Hammers in the win over Burnley. And now maybe (I still say “maybe” as I don’t want to take it for sure) I came back for Arnie’s last game in this stadium.
But forget about that! We’ve all witnessed a very different, really bright and joyous moment in West Ham’s history on Saturday lunch time. This game will not be remembered because of a forward saying good-bye, but will forever have its special place in the history books for a young man’s first Premier League goal which sealed a first win at home over Arsenal since 2006! It’s this game that marks an other giant step forward for Declan Rice grabbing all the headlines in the Sunday papers with a majestic man of the match performance, just two days before his twentieth birthday. “Rice and shine”! What a bright future lies ahead for this graduate from our Academy.
This game was also another big step forward for Manuel Pellegrini’s side which played really self-assured and mature against a team they had not beaten at home for more than 12 years. “We played like a big team in the Arsenal win,” the gaffer said after the 1-0 victory, and he couldn’t be more right.
It’s still old West Ham of course, but it’s not “poor old West Ham” that would have conceded an equaliser in injury time, squandering all the good work of the 90 minutes before. Arsenal actually had the ball in the back of the net in the 94th minute, but that goal was ruled out immediately for an offside so blatant that this fact was hardly mentioned in any of the match reports. And just seconds later the referee blew the whistle, and everybody was all but happy in the London Stadium, which this afternoon had been left early only by the folks occupying the away section that had been fairly quiet throughout the game.
It’s getting better all the time
It was a brilliant match day experience, like the one I had enjoyed on my last visits to the Burnley and the Crystal Palace games this season! In my opinion the match day experience in general is getting better and better now in this third year in the new stadium which of course is helped by the team playing so well – and also by the increasing number of food stalls outside the stadium.
I usually get to the stadium from Hackney Wick to avoid the overcrowded Stratford not paying so much attention to the food facilities. But with the lunchtime kick-off we came earlier, first strolled through Westfield before the game and arrived at the concourse much in time. That also gave us the opportunity to look for my ”RapidHammer stone” on Champions’ Place in front of entrance “J” for once, but unfortunately I could not find the stone quick enough in the drizzling rain, and we decided to write to the club on this topic, because it seems that the stones haven’t been laid in the way I had been told when I bought mine.
The atmosphere inside the ground was great this time, and it was getting better and better throughout the game. It was a brilliant performance of our boys. Just the goal was scored too early after halftime as far as we were concerned, because unfortunately we were back to our seats too late, having queued for a drink for much too long.
A family club
Now that the troubles of last season are behind us, I think we can say that the crowd in the London Stadium is feeling more and more at home there, and that the club has retained (or maybe regained after a difficult transition period) its air of a “family club”. The family has grown bigger and moved to a new house to which we get more and more familiar, and it’s great to see that the house gets filled every time by the members of this worldwide family! Having chosen almost the same seats for all of our visits this season, we’re also feeling more and more like citizens coming home. Wouldn’t want to miss the young but very raucous voice just rows beneath us in every game, shouting “Come on you I’ons” when the place has gone too quiet now and then!
There are lots of families, old and young, and supporters from all over the world! Well, I think we long suffering lot really deserve that the team is playing so well now, rewarding this most committed and loyal support for their endurance and following over land and sea, to the Olympic Stadium on the shores of River Lea! A first home win over Arsenal since 2005, and Declan Rice’s first goal – we’ve witnessed history, who could ask for more this Saturday?
Declan’s goal and this fine win was a real gift, because we can take it easy now that my compatriot from Austria seems to cease sharing with me the love for London and the badge with the two crossed hammers, and is willing to replace one of the hammers by a sickle, with his brother and agent having already set sail for the Chinese Sea.
What could have been …
Of course it is sad that Arnautovic seems to have waved his good-bye right now, because this match really showed for the first (and maybe last) time what an offensive trio of Samir Nasri, Felipe Anderson and Arnie would have been capable of. There were some moments in this game when the three players who are gifted with technical ability and great understanding of the game combined so well that my heart jumped with joy!
Unfortunately I fear we will have to accept that these three musketeers will not be as inseparable as d’Artagnan and his friends were in the French writer Alexandre Dumas’s novel.
Having mentioned the phrase “French” now, a word on the possible similarities between Arnie and the unmentionable ex-player we lost two years ago: I don’t think that our Austrian forward will go on strike when negotiations stall and it takes time before the two clubs come to terms. He used to be some kind of an enfant terrible, and behaved like a stupid child in former years, but he has shown signs of having grown much more mature and level-headed in recent years since he’s married and father of two. So he should be professional enough to honour his contract as long as West Ham haven’t reached an agreement which enables them to bring in a fitting replacement (which will not be cheap, that’s for sure!).
Well, I can’t be sure of that of course, but it’s at least what I’m hoping for. But of course I know that “once a Hammer, always a Hammer” unfortunately only applies for the members of the worldwide family of supporters of claret and blue, it does not apply for the players (some of the former ones, and also of the present company excepted of course, Mark and Declan in particular!).
But no matter which players the squad will consist of in February and in the seasons to follow: it’s us, the claret and blue army, who will always remain West Ham through and through!
Rumor has it, again, that „Arnie“ could be on his way away from West Ham. But he‘s also cited in the Austrian newspaper “Kurier“ to feel very well at West Ham. So, if they qualify for Europe, Marko Arnautovic could and should stay!
And though the Hammers are way off a European spot so far in the Premier League table, I think it still is possible to move up into the top ten with a run of good results, and then who knows? They just need to be a little more consistent and play like they did against Burnley, then this season can still become a success. Manuel Pellegrini is capable to get the best out of this squad, I’m sure he is!
I for once will do my best and watch the Hammers live on two more occasions in December and January next year (against Palace and the Gunners). The flights are booked already!
Will we see Arnie add more goals to his tally of 5 out of 10 games? Will Felipe Anderson continue to score, and will Academy products Grady Diangana and Declan Rice shine again in the forthcoming matches? I am optimistic and forever blowing bubbles …
But it’s a matter of fact that the “Pellegrini Revolution” must bring more positive results than it has brought so far. I think that this season is already key because if West Ham is still reeling near the relegation zone within the next weeks or will just be somewhere at mid table obscurity in summer, it will be difficult to attract and hold the players we need to be successful in the long term.
The Hammers remain 13th in the Premier League after drawing 1-1 at Huddersfield and missing the chance to gain back-to-back league wins for the first time since January 2017.
But that man Felipe Anderson who grabbed the headlines last week with a fine performance and a brace against Burnley, scored again (74’) and helped West Ham secure a point. That means that the Hammers stay 13th in the Premier League table ahead of the forthcoming international break.
Während in England “Schneechaos” herrscht, dem die beiden Ligacup-Semifinali Blackburn v Aston Villa und Manchester City v ManUtd zum Opfer fielen, haben wir in Österreich Fußball-Winterpause. Dennoch verirrte sich der Fußball am Dienstag sogar zu Ingrid Thurnher in die ORF-Nachrichtensendung ZiB 2.
93 Rapid-Anhänger sollen von der StA Wien u.a. wegen “Landfriedensbruch” (§ 274 StGB) angeklagt werden. Sie sind – gemeinsam mit etwa doppelt so vielen weiteren Grünen – nach einer verlorenen Partie gegen den SV Mattersburg im Mai 2009 auf den Wiener Westbahnhof gefahren, um die von einem Auswärtsspiel in Linz heimkehrenden Fans der Austria “abzuholen”. Dort trafen sie allerdings auf Polizisten, die die “Begrüßungszeremonie” verhindern wollten, dafür aber selbst angegriffen worden seien (siehe Bericht sportnet).
Sechs Polizisten sind damals verletzt worden, vier Fußballfans wurden noch an Ort und Stelle festgenommen. Identifiziert wurden 93 Verdächtige mit Hilfe von in der Bahnhofshalle installierten Überwachungskameras.
Ein ziemlicher Kontrast zu dem beeindruckenden Auftreten der Rapid-Fans anlässlich der Auswärtsspiele in der EUROPA LEAGUE im Herbst 2009. Im letzten RAPID-Magazin (12/2009) schrieb dazu Stefan Singer:
“Unvergesslich bleiben die Auftritte in Birmingham, Glasgow und Hamburg, wo große Fußballnationen staunend zur Kenntnis nehmen mussten, welche Fankultur ein im internationalen Vergleich kleiner Verein wie der SK Rapid hervorzubringen vermag. Ohne nennenswerte Zwischenfälle wurde dort die Mannschaft in einer Art und Weise unterstützt, wie man sie in Europa nur ganz selten findet. Ausnahmslosalle internationalen Stimmen, sei es in Medien oder in einschlägigen Diskussionsforen, lobten die Begeisterungsfähigkeit und Stimmgewalt sowie das ordentliche Auftreten der Rapid-Anhänger.
Dies sei auch all jenen ins Stammbuch geschrieben, die immer wieder versuchen, Fußballfans generell zu drangsalieren und zu kriminalisieren (zB Pyrotechnikgesetz): Die Fans des SK Rapid waren wahrscheinlich die in der europäischen Fußballszene am positivsten wahrgenommenen Österreicher der vergangenen Jahre!”
Bleibt zu wünschen, dass die Rapidler weiterhin positiv auf sich aufmerksam machen. Und dass der möglicherweise bevorstehende Prozess (denn noch ist formell nicht Anklage erhoben worden!) nur einzelne “schwarze Schafe” betrifft, nicht aber insgesamt ein gewalttätiges Bild von den Rapid-Fans zeichnet, das so sicher nicht stimmt!
“Wir hatten zwar einen tollen Beginn, doch leider sind wir nicht über die Runden gekommen. Trotzdem muss ich der Mannschaft und den Fans ein Kompliment für dieses Jahr aussprechen.” Rapid-Coach Peter Pacult
Was der Rapid-Trainer nach dem 3:3im letzten Euro League-Spiel des SK Rapid gegen den ebenfalls in der Gruppenphase ausgeschiedenen Celtic FC sagte, klingt wie eine Zusammenfassung der Leistungen von Rapid in der ganzen Gruppenphase – auch wenn Pacult mit seinem ersten Satz nur das finale Unentschieden gegen die Schotten meinte.
Da gingen die Rapidler im kalten Ernst Happel-Stadion wieder einmal durch ein “first-minute-goal” von Nikica Jelavic so schnell in Führung, dass ich den ersten Treffer nur mehr in der Wiederholung auf der Videowall sehen konnte. Und für die Tore 2 und 3 (nochmals Jelavic und Salihi) brauchte Rapid gerade mal 19 Minuten – da wurde keinem kalt.
Ein großartiger Auftakt im Prater also – wie im September mit dem 3:0-Sieg im ersten Gruppenspiel der Gruppe C gegen den Hamburger SV.
Der Rest der ersten Halbzeit, in der Celtics Marc-Antoine Fortune noch auf 1:3 stellen konnte, gestaltete sich ausgeglichen; beide Teams hatten Chancen und Helge Payer-Ersatz Hedl im Rapid-Tor musste sich mehrmals auszeichnen – ein gutes und ausgeglichenes Spiel wie beim 1:1 gegen Celtic in Glasgow.
Nach der Pause wollte Rapid den Vorsprung verwalten, doch in der 67. Minute gelang Celtic der etwas glückliche Anschlusstreffer. Fortune nutzte nach einem schnell abgespielten Freistoß in abseitsverdächtiger Position den Querpass vom Fünfer zum 2:3 und zu seinem zweiten Treffer (67.). Das mögliche 4:2 hatte Jelavic am Fuß, doch machte der Ball nach hoher Drazan-Vorlage, was er und nicht was der Rapid-Stürmer wollte (75.). – Das erinnerte an die Partien gegen Hapoel Tel Aviv, vor allem an die erste Halbzeit des Heimspiels in Wien, als Rapid reihenweise Chancen vergab und Hapoel glücklich zum Führungstreffer kam.
Und dann wurde man bei Rapid zunehmend nervös, verschenkte immer wieder Bälle und ließ den nach der Auswechslung von Salihi als Solospitze auf Vorlagen lauernden Jelavic “verhungern”. Statt einem Rapid-Sieg und Platz 3 in der Gruppe sahen wir in der 91. Minute noch ein Celtic-Tor durch McGowan. Das 3:3 war ärgerlich und schmeckte nach Niederlage – man erinnerte sich an die verkorksten zweiten Spielhälften gegen Hapoel und an die für Rapid schiefgegangene Invasion von Hamburg (0:2).
Und in der letzten der drei Nachspiel-Minuten schließlich der letzte Freistoß von Steffen Hofmann in diesem Jahr. Aber Celtic-Goalie Boruc, der schon beim EM-1:1 von Österreich gegen Polen unsere Stürmer im Prater zur Verzweiflung gebracht hatte, konnte parieren und damit fehlte der positive Knalleffekt zum Abschluss. – Nach einem tollen Beginn ist Rapid “nicht über die Runden gekommen” (wie Peter Pacult sagte). 3:3 “für” Celtic, für die Grünen blieb nur der vierte Platz mit 5 Punkten.
Hapoel gewann die Gruppe C durch ein 1:0 gegen den HSV, Celtic hat einen Punkt mehr als Rapid und wurde Dritter. Im Frühjahr spielt von den vier österreichischen Vertretern nur noch Salzburg in der Europa League (1:0-Auswärtssieg gegen Villareal – der sechste volle Erfolg im sechsten Spiel!).
Aber bei Rapid kann man über das in diesem 110er-Jubiläumsjahr Erreichte insgesamt sehr zufrieden sein. Die Bäume wachsen bei Rapid schlussendlich nicht in den Himmel, aber Peter Pacult hat vollkommen recht. Mannschaft und Fans verdienen ein Kompliment, für das was seit dem Sommer erreicht wurde:
Sieg gegen Liverpool im Jubiläumsspiel, Aufstieg in die Euro League-Gruppenphase mit beeindruckenden Leistungen gegen Aston Villa, sensationelles 3:0 gegen den HSV und beachtliches 1:1 in Glasgow. Und die Erfolge in der Meisterschaft, wie der 4:1-Derbysieg gegen die Austria oder das packende 2:1 gegen Sturm, brachten Rapid Herbstmeistertitel und “Winterkrone”.
Jetzt machen wir zwei Monate Fußballpause in Österreich – und dann soll die “Mission 33” wieder starten: Rapid holt den 33. nationalen Meistertitel. Von mir aus kann dann auch Salzburg ins Europa League-Finale kommen …
“Wir hatten zwar einen tollen Beginn, doch leider sind wir nicht über die Runden gekommen. Trotzdem muss ich der Mannschaft und den Fans ein Kompliment für dieses Jahr aussprechen.”
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