I couldn’t watch the game yesterday afternoon. It was a situation as it could be described in Nick Hornby’s “Fever Pitch”. You’ve received visitors for a snack in the afternoon and there’s hardly a chance to get to know the result as you’ve got caught in the small-talk at the dining-table.
Eventually you’re able to absent yourself for some minutes. You drop out to the computer, type the BBC-sports-website, and get to know what???
The Hammers are 0-1 down and there are only 5 minutes left to play. But you can’t stay away for such a long time, can you?
Well, you drop back to the company of your guests and think about the faint possibilty of another Mark Noble penalty in the 93rd minute…
One and a half hour later you’re able to get a glimpse at the results of this Premier League round – just to find out that neither a penalty was awarded at the “JJB” nor Mark Noble has scored.
After Wednesday’s performance against Liverpool you had thought you were entitled to expect yet another away win at Wigan. But all that’s crossing your mind now are the lyrics of “Bubbles”: “They fly so high, nearly reach the sky, then like my dreams …”
You know, “they fade and die…”
Well, a win at Wigan – that couldn’t be, could it? Because it is after all West Ham we support. I suppose I should have known better.
February 3, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Crazy name, crazy guy. Otto Pfister has come under fire in Ghana for smoking on the touchline during Cameroon’s 5-1 victory against Zambia on Saturday. The 70-year-old Cameroon coach has been warned that he was breaking the law at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi by a local health organisation who have urged him to stop setting a bad example.
“This negative behaviour must not be allowed to continue in Ghana,” the Abibimman Foundation said in a statement. “We are therefore calling on the local organising committee to draw the attention of coach Otto Pfister to his actions.”
The silver-haired German is so revered in Cameroon that his penchant for wearing trousers and shorts low around the waist started a new trend known as the “Otto Pfister”
February 1, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Great game, great result – and all the other results of this Premier League round went in West Ham’s favor. A 6th place-finish is in West Ham’s reach, a fourth place would be a dream, but I think after last night’s win there’s really a good chance for qualifying for Europe. The players will be upbeat after their great performance, especially in the 1st half, and I hope for a good run now! What’s most important in my opinion is that last night’s game showed that there is confidence in the squad, and in football it’s all about confidence!
January 31, 2008 at 1:32 pm
West Ham aren’t competing for the FA Cup anymore after having lost the replay against Manchester City one and a half week ago. Only six Premier League clubs are still in the competion and it is sure that one of them will not reach the quarter finals as Man Utd and Arsenal have been drawn to meet in the 5th round. This round is going to be played 16/17 february.
The last minnow to reach an FA Cup Final was Millwall in 2004. They lost to Man Utd due to goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and van Nistelroy (2). This year has seen most of the Premier League sides already having crushed out of the Cup. I predict that we will see at least one or two clubs from a lower league in the semifinals – and maybe in the final, too!
January 28, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Während sich beim gestrigen Ligacup-Semifinale Chelsea (1:0 bei Everton) durchsetzte, verhinderte das unglaubliche 1:5 von Arsenal gegen Tottenham (Video) eine Wiederholung des letztjährigen Finales Chelsea gegen Arsenal. Da die “Gunners” sich daher diesmal nicht im Endspiel prügeln können (Bericht vom Finale 2007 siehe hier!), gab es schon Dienstag im Semi an der White Hart Lane Zoff:
Emmanuel Adebayor und Arsenal-Teamkollege Nicklas Bendtner waren auf einander losgegangen (Video hier; Bericht von Times Online hier!). Adebayor gehörte übrigens auch im Finale 2007 gegen Chelsea zu jenen Spielern, die in die Rauferei am Ende des Matches verwickelt waren.
January 24, 2008 at 8:29 am
The Website KUMB and other sources report that the coach of Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, Giovanni Trapattoni, is linked with the vacant job of a sports director or Director of Football at West Ham United. West Ham owner and chairman Björgólfur Guðmundsson has been searching a man for this job since November.
This “director” should not replace manager Alan Curbishley, but help in recruiting and in developing the stadium project.The 68 years old former Milan, Juve und Bayern Munich-coach and team manager of Italy Giovanni Trapattoni has had a spell with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg for two seasons. He has tried to qualify for the Champions League twice but has failed so far. Salzburg wasn’t able to qualify for the UEFA Cup group stages either.
Red Bull Salzburg usually plays very defensive and in away games they sometimes hardly muster a shot on goal. Although Red Bull has been guaranteed extraordinary funds (compared to the other Austrian clubs) they have not only failed in reaching their target to play a role in Europe but they have won only one away game in the league so far. I fear “the Mister” (as “Trap” is called) by his players is not “up to date”. The Hammers should choose another sports director, please!
January 23, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I was reading Iain Dale’s West Ham Blog this morning when I came across an email by former Hammers player Peter Butler. He had sent this message to Iain Dale with the permission to post it on the weblog in full. About West Ham and its supporters, Peter Butler who played for West Ham as a midfielder from ’92 to ’94, says:
“I will never forget my time at West Ham. The fans were brilliant to me and I loved playing there. They are without a shadow of doubt the best fans in London and it was a pleasure and a privilege to have pulled on that shirt and to have played for such great people.”
You can read more about Peter Butler on the blog Soccerphile (here!), and on another West Ham Blog, “Just Like My Dreams”, here!
(Quite sad that on “Just Like My Dreams” no posts are published anymore! WHERE IS HE NOW?)
January 22, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Das Wochenende brachte in England ausschließlich Favoritensiege. “Mind the gap!” ist man versucht auszurufen, denn der Abstand zwischen den drei Top Teams und den Verfolgern wird von Runde zu Runde größer!
Durchaus spannend ist aber vor dem Spiel heute Abend zwischen Liverpool und Aston Villa der Kampf um Platz 4. Ob es den “Reds” gelingt, wieder unter die “Top 4” vorzustoßen – womit die üblichen “Großen Vier” wieder an der Spitze vereint wären, ist durchaus zweifelhaft.
(more…)
January 21, 2008 at 9:51 am
Die Leser der UEFA-Website wählten die besten Fußballer Europas. Über 3,75 Millionen Stimmen sind von insgesamt 277.985 verschiedenen Usern bei uefa.com abgegeben worden.
Die uefa.com-Mannschaft des Jahres 2007
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Daniel Alves (FC Sevilla), Alessandro Nesta (AC Mailand), John Terry (FC Chelsea), Eric Abidal (FC Barcelona);
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (FC Liverpool), Kaka, Clarence Seedorf (beide AC Mailand);
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Mailand), Didier Drogba (FC Chelsea)
Trainer: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United).
January 19, 2008 at 5:15 pm
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