Championship, Tues., Aug. 16, 2011—7:45 p.m. EST
Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire
Watford 0 West Ham Utd, 4
Can you even remember the last time we won by this margin away from home? I do remember salivating over David Cross’ four away goals (the last, a volley off his shin; all against the pug-ugly Pat Jennings) against Tottenham in the early 80s, and then there was that 0-4 win against Chelsea, thanks to goals from Tony Cottee, Frank McAvennie and Alan Devonshire, but that was one of the best sides the Hammers have ever had.
Keeping on statistics, I was also trying to remember the last time we won two away games on the trot. Any idea? I think it was Birmingham and Reading in 07/08, and then I got obsessed, thinking, well, these are both now Championship sides, too, so when was the last time we beat two currently Premiership sides away from home in a row. The answer to that is this week’s question (see below), but the time before that, I believe, was back-to back games against Blackburn and Arsenal in 06/07, the last game still giving me nightmares—the Arsenal attack was utterly relentless, and after they had hit every piece of wood or body part of the West Ham goal and team, respectively, one rather had the impression that we’d win the game 0-1, which we did, thanks to that Bobby Zamora lurch and chip over the head of Jens “I’m Mad” Lehmann.
And when was the last time we even won two games in a row? That’s another question that does not fill me with too much joy, as it happened only once each season over at least the last two seasons. Last season, it was the Liverpool-Stoke games, of course.
Anyway, back to the Watford Wasting. I also said after the Cardiff game that I though Joey O’Brien had the making of perhaps a new Matty Etherington, and indeed in this game he got his first Hammers goal. The other successful deployment-of-ball-in-back-of-opposition-net came thanks to Carlton Cole (and I do not know why I always feel so relieved when he scores, as though I do not expect another for aeons (the same can be said of Frédéric Piquionne)), James Tompkins (who might be doubtful for the Leeds game) and Scott Parker.
One chap commenting on one of the Hammers forums said that Parker did not hastily join in the goal celebrations, and was this a sign that he has one foot out of the door? Probably he would not have celebrated his goal anyway, coming as it did in the 92nd minute when we were already 0-3 up.
And thanks to reader Jack Hess, who kindly will now send me the weekly “Hello Everyone!” newsletters from manager Sam Allerdyce, who actually signs off with a “Big Sam.” Here is one jewel of Mr. Allerdyce’s unique literary style (and it’s not really called “Hello Everyone!”)…
“As Watford began to falter in breaking us down because our defence was extremely solid, we then started to get in amongst them in midfield and Joey O’Brien scored the killer second just before half–time.”
Agh, you must love run-on sentences as much as I do. Well, I guess it’s not quite one, but the use of “because of” rather than “due to” needs some midweek work being done at the Chadwell Health training complex. As Alan Devonshire would have been able to tell Big Sam, “due to” is an adjectival prepositional phrase, because (used correctly here, please note, Mr. Allerdyce) it is modifying a noun, that being Watford’s breaking down, or perhaps “breakdown.” “Because of” is an adverbial prepositional phrase, one that modifies a verb.
Okay, that’s enough of me being very boring. I also saw in that newsletter that VIP hospitality for the West Ham-Leeds game costs £49 but includes “exclusive bar access” and “a free drink,” the latter rather cancelling out the initial delight of the former, I would have thought. As the rearranged Aldershot League Cup game is an evening kickoff, you can add “pie and mash” to this heady offering.
And lastly, talking of high scoring 0-something matches, my friend Brian, a Grimsby supporter (yes, there are some) wrote to me saying that Grimsby are so far down on their luck (they have had a spell in the Championship), they this week lost to Conference team Braintree 5-0. And do you know who currently manages Braintree, not too far up the road from West Ham? Not only the Dev himself, Alan “I’ll Take the District Line, thanks” Devonshire, who began its manager only in May. Hurrahs all round!!!!
This week, I’ve been all praise for West Ham, all criticism for its marketing staff (I am sure Big Sam doesn’t actually write his own material).
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Soccer, British TV and the BBC
Championship, Tues., Aug. 16, 2011—7:45 p.m. EST
Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire
Watford vs West Ham Utd,
I am predicting a second West Ham away win on the trot. Watford has had the kind of form in the Championship over the last dozen games as West Ham had in the Premiership/Championship over the same time period up to the Doncaster win (see below). Julian Faubert is now fit, and John Carew is being looked at as being potentially match fit, although I doubt we will see him in this game.
Here’s a question. When I was a kid there was a show on British TV showed that was centered on a group of young football fans. They were in the Watford junior supporters’ club, and each episode had various problems to sort out—truancy, stolen club funds, betrayal, that kind of stuff—and the action, such as it was, was often divided by awful segues into taped, “real” Watford games. One was supposed to believe that the actors were actually there. It all felt slightly similar to Grange Hill, if you remember that, which I am sure you do if you are around 40 (not that I am!!!!). Anyway, does anyone remember the name of that Watford show? Maybe you refused to watch it on principle? This was in the early 80s, and some of you might remember it as a year when Watford actually for a couple of weeks topped the First Division and had in Luther Blissett, the league’s top goal scorer, who was then signed to AC Milan. (I also remember with some pain when Millwall was top of the First Division in 1988.)
Last GameChampionship, Sat., Aug. 13, 2011
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, Yorkshire
Doncaster Rovers 0 West Ham Utd. 1
Okay, so this blog is no shorter than any of the others, is it? As we all probably realised, BBC Radio London on its Website kept saying that I was listening to was commentary on Doncaster-West Ham when in fact what it was was QPR-Bolton, which was entertaining, especially as I was in a very good mood after running nine miles and still getting home after a shower and with a coffee to listen to England mop up the last wickets in the Third Test against India.
Anyway, the one goal came early, a surge forwards by James Tompkins, a lay-off to Jack Collison, who moved around a Doncaster midfielder and lobbed it over the heads of several defenders to meet the boot of Kevin Nolan, who half-volleyed into the roof of the net. It was pretty much impossible to defend. Nolan came close to a second, a delightful chip-shot hitting the crossbar. West Ham dominated, but Doncaster had a header that went inches wide, with Rob Green stranded. So, we got our first three points (something we did precious little last season), and we’re on our way.
Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire
Watford vs West Ham Utd,
I am predicting a second West Ham away win on the trot. Watford has had the kind of form in the Championship over the last dozen games as West Ham had in the Premiership/Championship over the same time period up to the Doncaster win (see below). Julian Faubert is now fit, and John Carew is being looked at as being potentially match fit, although I doubt we will see him in this game.
Here’s a question. When I was a kid there was a show on British TV showed that was centered on a group of young football fans. They were in the Watford junior supporters’ club, and each episode had various problems to sort out—truancy, stolen club funds, betrayal, that kind of stuff—and the action, such as it was, was often divided by awful segues into taped, “real” Watford games. One was supposed to believe that the actors were actually there. It all felt slightly similar to Grange Hill, if you remember that, which I am sure you do if you are around 40 (not that I am!!!!). Anyway, does anyone remember the name of that Watford show? Maybe you refused to watch it on principle? This was in the early 80s, and some of you might remember it as a year when Watford actually for a couple of weeks topped the First Division and had in Luther Blissett, the league’s top goal scorer, who was then signed to AC Milan. (I also remember with some pain when Millwall was top of the First Division in 1988.)
Last GameChampionship, Sat., Aug. 13, 2011
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, Yorkshire
Doncaster Rovers 0 West Ham Utd. 1
Okay, so this blog is no shorter than any of the others, is it? As we all probably realised, BBC Radio London on its Website kept saying that I was listening to was commentary on Doncaster-West Ham when in fact what it was was QPR-Bolton, which was entertaining, especially as I was in a very good mood after running nine miles and still getting home after a shower and with a coffee to listen to England mop up the last wickets in the Third Test against India.
Anyway, the one goal came early, a surge forwards by James Tompkins, a lay-off to Jack Collison, who moved around a Doncaster midfielder and lobbed it over the heads of several defenders to meet the boot of Kevin Nolan, who half-volleyed into the roof of the net. It was pretty much impossible to defend. Nolan came close to a second, a delightful chip-shot hitting the crossbar. West Ham dominated, but Doncaster had a header that went inches wide, with Rob Green stranded. So, we got our first three points (something we did precious little last season), and we’re on our way.
Hammers Dominate...... And, Lose
Championship, Sun., Aug. 7, 2011
Upton Park, East London
West Ham Utd. 0 Cardiff City 1
The Hammers dominated this game but came away with nothing. I was very impressed with Henrita Illunga and Winston Reid (and no one said that last season), but it was an Illunga error (trying to be too clever with five minutes to go) that led to the one and only goal. The fact that no one watching groaned too loudly is testament to how long the amassed fans have supported the team.
A colleague of mine (Spanish-American) has a nephew whose Long Island team won the regional finals of a club competition and thus travelled to Los Angeles for the national finals. At this level, it was their World Cup. They did not do so well there, but to get to the finals they were in a game that they were winning 2-0. This was as far as my friend explained the goings-on to me, and then he said, the opposition team got one back with five minutes to go, and we really felt the tension. I already had the scenario in mind. The opposition gets the equaliser in injury time and then….”I said, my goodness, you really do know what it’s like to be a West Ham supporter.” I think that long-winded story (and thanks for reading it) pretty much sums up the last 39 games, if not many more.
Time for panic? No. But as was stated, every Championship club will view a West Ham fixture as a mini-F.A. Cup and stick 10 men behind the ball, waiting for the time to counterattack when Hammer frustration kicks in.
Scott Parker looked absent, and maybe he will be permanently soon, and Kevin Nolan missed two sitters. How his goalline-header chance bypassed him, I do not know. And of course, our new manager exercised his administrational right to not make any substitutions before the 70th minute, thus not allowing Carlton Cole to get fully into the game. Freddie Sears was poor.
Two brighter lights came from Matty Taylor, who was a live wire, and, to a lesser extent, Joey O’Brien, who reminds me a little of Matty Etherington, now at Stoke, where he was joined this week by Matthew Upson.
Upton Park, East London
West Ham Utd. 0 Cardiff City 1
The Hammers dominated this game but came away with nothing. I was very impressed with Henrita Illunga and Winston Reid (and no one said that last season), but it was an Illunga error (trying to be too clever with five minutes to go) that led to the one and only goal. The fact that no one watching groaned too loudly is testament to how long the amassed fans have supported the team.
A colleague of mine (Spanish-American) has a nephew whose Long Island team won the regional finals of a club competition and thus travelled to Los Angeles for the national finals. At this level, it was their World Cup. They did not do so well there, but to get to the finals they were in a game that they were winning 2-0. This was as far as my friend explained the goings-on to me, and then he said, the opposition team got one back with five minutes to go, and we really felt the tension. I already had the scenario in mind. The opposition gets the equaliser in injury time and then….”I said, my goodness, you really do know what it’s like to be a West Ham supporter.” I think that long-winded story (and thanks for reading it) pretty much sums up the last 39 games, if not many more.
Time for panic? No. But as was stated, every Championship club will view a West Ham fixture as a mini-F.A. Cup and stick 10 men behind the ball, waiting for the time to counterattack when Hammer frustration kicks in.
Scott Parker looked absent, and maybe he will be permanently soon, and Kevin Nolan missed two sitters. How his goalline-header chance bypassed him, I do not know. And of course, our new manager exercised his administrational right to not make any substitutions before the 70th minute, thus not allowing Carlton Cole to get fully into the game. Freddie Sears was poor.
Two brighter lights came from Matty Taylor, who was a live wire, and, to a lesser extent, Joey O’Brien, who reminds me a little of Matty Etherington, now at Stoke, where he was joined this week by Matthew Upson.
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