West Ham Fans Born to be Claret and Blue

All in All, Hammers didn't play that badly against Arsenal. First, you have to remember that it's ARSENAL we were playing, and in their current form they really do look like winning the Premier League. Second, it was at Emirates, where only one team has beaten them (a great team at that!). Third, there were three fairly good chances for West Ham -- Cole's shot that was just deflected, Pantsil's near miss, and the corner cleared off the line. Ljungberg's bright move and decent shot on the right might qualify as a fourth chance. Had we gotten even one of these, the story might have been different. Fourth, Adebayor's goal was simply fantastic. Sure there were defensive problems that let him get in behind, but from that angle who on Earth can score a goal? I saw the replay about 20 times and every time it looks like he has absolutely NO angle, and that the ball starts going AWAY from goal, only magically to hit the post and even more magically roll in. Credit to Arsenal, they have a better TEAM than Manchester United (not, I think, better individual players); they defended against us very well and they weren't rattled by the pressure we applied. West Ham tightened up defensively in the second half and avoided embarrassment, but that took a lot away from our attack. And even though the players filling in did well, we REALLY missed Parker and Solano, and then Ljungberg, too. I think Cole showed he's superb at winning the ball. He's constantly improving at this and at laying it off for others. I'd just like to see him add a really dangerous strike to this. He was terrific against Arsenal. Pantsill still looked to be enjoying himself, and getting in some good play. Noble once again made some fine corner kicks (is he learning from Nobby?), so there was a lot to be pleased with. I think perhaps we made a mistake by trying to play against Arsenal the same way we played against Manchester United. Different teams demand different tactics. Might it have been better to allow them all their fancy passes in the first two thirds and tighten up in the last third? Wear themselves out, most probably. Either that or score 5 goals! But I can't question Curbs' 4-5-1 -- what else could we have done? COYI, there's some revenge needed against Citeh. Onwards and Upwards.

hammerthon Dean Ashton has shown us that he can play. It was this good form that put him into the England squad which of course led to the long term injury he incurred. Since his return there have been glimpses of the 'pre injury' Dean Ashton, but certainly not consistently enough to have him back in the mind of the England manager(s)or on the wish list of other premiership managers. If you are looking for a striker in January it is probably because your team is underperforming. What you don't need is someone who is yet to fully recover from injury (or prolonged absence)and who appears to have an inflated opinion about his own ability. Although I was always a big Ashton fan (who could ever forget the way he played in that cup final?), I have grown increasingly impatient with his surly attitude towards team mates, fans and (allegedly) the manager. If the issue is all about who starts, then he needs to put himself about even more than Carlton Cole. He needs to significantly increase his workrate and he needs to be play with commitment to the club and the progress of the club. There was some paper talk earlier in the year concerning Ferguson's alleged interest in Dean Ashton. He wouldn't last 5 minutes at Old Trafford with his current attitude, workrate, and general performance. I think the same would apply for him at Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and any other club he may believe would come looking to sign him if he reqests a transfer. And the biggest news for Dean Ashton is that his performance at this point in time does not warrant first eleven selection at West Ham. The Arsenal defence was more troubled by Cole on his own than by Ashton and Camara working together. When Deano realises what is acceptable at our club I am sure he will either step up or do the honorable thing.

Why are so many writing of Dean Ashton so soon?This is a player with bags of potential who has just been unlucky with injuries!What he needs is a good run in the team and with games at home against City in the Cup and Fulham at home this is a great chance for him to be given 90 mins in each to gain match fitness and the fans to get behind him and show how much we value him.Surely an 80% fit Ashton offers more than a fully fit Camara and i know Cole has done well but Deano is a better finisher.I for one would rather have Ashton in our team rather than face him.Lets also remember it took Curbishley about 10 games to realise Tevez was any good!We need to keep players like Ashton and good for him making noises about when not being picked,it proves he is fit and ready as he would not want to risk further time out on the sidelines.Also why are so many now wanting Bent to sign?Back in July he was just a good Championship player when he overlooked us for Spurs.As far as im concerned he has gone backwards not forwards since going to Spurs and he can't be all that as not only Jol but now Ramos want play him!For the same monet that Bent would cost i would prefer Defoe,a proven goalscorer in the Premiership and a perfect foil for Ashton.Lets not forget Ashton has only started 8 times and scored 5 goals this season a very good return.So please lets not be negative towards Dean Ashton...

just saw this on sky: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11685_3015184,00.html curbs said at the end that the goal that eduardo scored was unnacceptable for a defense to concede. and THAT is exactly the kind of goal that ashton scores, line it up- and then shoot. so what curbs is really sayin is that ashton is not good enough to break down class backlines. and lets be honest, cole is doing a better job because although hes not that great, he does what he does quickly. does anybody think that curbs would have played ashton if he thought that ashton could score a few goals against man yoo and arsenal?? of course he would...

Ashton? Well this will get some of you going but would it be that bad if he was sold for the right money? Now i would like to keep hold of the lad but let me say a few things that concern me about the Ash Will he when he is fully fit score 20+ goals a season? Will be hold the line as good as Cole? Is his temperment right? All these thing are unanswered at this time but i will say one thing about ashton that you may or may not agree with He is a second striker! what i mean by this is he is good but what we need is a fast small little cottee to play off him and score the 20+ a season In my opionion i believe Bent would be a good bye (fast and can score a goal) and here is the big question for next seasons transfer market where is the little cottee going to come from? abroad? Home?

deanos not going anywhere while bellamy is out and camara is playing like a twat... honestly, the problem with deano is that he is slow. hes put on a lot of muscle or fat or whatever u want to call it and this has slowed him down. hes a great finisher, as long as the ball falls to him in the right place and he has a second to line it up and power a line drive (he always has his head down when striking). hes really easy work for defenders if he works that way. look at the goals hes scored... hes a mix between robbie keane and blackburns tugay: HE HAS TO WAIT FOR A CHANCE TO COME TO HIM. curbs decision to bench him is a tactical one because crowding the midfield put teams off... it was also a personnell decision because the class backlines faced in the last two games would have made quick work of his slow reaction time. talk of deano leaving in january is not realistic but he needs to prove to curbs that he can be effective while not being a weakness to the offense. i hope to see him improve and score goals again because he is a top player if he fine-tunes his game.

If we get rid of Dean Ashton for Darren Bent I will cry... There I said it.. It will be shameful.

john pantsil wooh! john pantsil wooh! he comes africa hes better than kaka! if fergie thinks old traffords quiet he shud of been at the arsneal game yesterday, gooners fans were awful, its stil a libary! its stil a libary!

Just reading the BBC football page, Sir Alex complaining about the Man U crowd being quiet, and re enforcing the Prawn Sandwich Brigade comment. Interesting though, his comments come after the game at Upton Park! Well done those that can get to the games on a regular basis. Win or Loose, your support is reveared by other teams Managers, so well done the WH faithfull. Florida Hammer.

Looking at psysioroom, as ever we are top of the injury league by a long way. Also, the majority of our injurys are groin or muscle strains. Surely this cannot be just down to bad luck! I wonder how much time they spend on stretches or maybe they are doing too much. Either way, they need to seriously review there fitness coach as something is despratly wrong. The good news is that according to the website, a lot of the injured players have a the 5th Jan as their return date. I wonder how accurate that is? On the Aston front, I think that he is a bit arrogant to think he has automatic selection. Like Cole and other sqaud members, he needs to take his chances and win his place back. As for a move, would other clubs want him based upon what his has done this season? I think Deano is tops, but he is no Tevez right now. He needs to let his football do the talking! COYI.......

only a whisper but i heard deano had handed in a transfer request as he is not happy at not starting. now not saying its true just letting everyone know. as for freddie he can now take a run and jump after blowing kisses to the arsenal fans as he left the pitch. what a mug. his west ham career must be over now. stupid amount of wages for a has been thats injured every other game. get rid of hima and bring in giles barnes who had bags of potential. he can play on both wings and as a striker off the front man.