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West Ham Utd v Aston Villa : Premier League 15:00 Hrs Sunday 11th of May 2008 at the Boleyn Ground |
Has Freddie Played His Last Game For West HamSubmitted by Neville Nixon on 28 April, 2008 - 05:54.
Despite protestations from Scott Duxberry, there is a growing opinion that Freddie Ljungberg has played his last game in the claret and blue of West Ham United. The Swedish International captain was stretchered off after 20 minutes against Newcastle with a suspected broken rib.....
Loosing yet another expensive signing along with having what seemed like a certain victory turned in to a draw just about sums up Hammers season!
Things looked so promising as the crowd got behind the team, Mark Noble and Dean Ashton both scored and all looked set for a thoroughly enjoyable sun soaked 'Hamfest'. Alas it was not to be, the defensive frailties that had been obscured by such a superb start began to reappear and Newcastle duly obliged with their two goals in the space of three minutes.
Many people are writing the rest of the season off but forthcoming opponents Manchester Utd and Aston Villa have got it all to play for, whereas finishing above Tottenham will be Hammers solace for a season that promised so much but didn't do what it said on the can! - Ed
( categories: Latest News )
"Despite protestations from
"Despite protestations from Scott Duxberry" is right ed, according to quite a few reports (and whispers from inside the club) Björgólfur Guðmundsson wants to offload both Freddie and Lucas Niell because of their wages, he believes he can get 4-5 players in on their combined salaries alone and with some of the performances from our Captain this season and Freddies patchy form/injury problems i feel it would be a good move all round.
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Curbs saying in this interveiw when all the players are fit we will have to look to cut down the squad a bit, well why should we - if Curbishly is serious about pushing forward then we already know Mullins, Boa, Mcartney etc (the list does go on) will not get us their. For fuk sake lets get serious and get sorting out this squad now. Another thing Curbs sais we want to be pushing for top 8. Does anyone think thats a bit of a low aim. 2 places better than this season he's aiming for.
A very interesting interview with Curbs and I agree with him that after all that has happened this season, 10th is a very good position and we can push on next season to the top 8 or even slightly higher.
On the transfer front, it appears that we wont be spending massive amounts but I don't think that we have to.We need to clear out some of the fringe players and maybe sign 2 more first team players such as another forward and a creative midfielder plus maybe cover at left back.
Good to see you posting between matches Ed. I met up with B (WHTID) at UP on Saturday and he made me aware of your personal circumstances and to this end I would like to extend my best wishes to you and your family.
heres a good radio interview with curbs, worth a listen.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/podcasts/thegame/article381...
heres a good radio interview with curbs, worth a listen.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/audio_video/podcasts/thegame/article381...
how does that relate to the shiit performances. Injury's do not mean we cant pass the ball properly and produce more than two goals in a game.
I've been disappointed with a lot of matches this season but I think we need to be realistic. We nearly went down last season and Curbs saved us. Look at Charlton and Sheff Utd now if you need a wake up call. This season, with no Tevez, Reo-Coker or Benayoun, we're going to finish 10th with an injury hit side that no other club had to endure. I'm not ready to put the bunting out for Curbs yet but he's done a decent job to stabilise us. My jury is out, in respect of whether he is the man to take us to the next level, but, I certainly think he deserves a chance and our support. Imagine the team when Ashton, Bellamy, Parker and Dyer are all fit. And Gabbs with Upson at CB. One or two additons over the summer would be nice. But lets face it, with Sepp's new 5 English players rule, we're going to win the league anyway!
But Tevez was the reason we stayed up last season and i dont see how going without Reo Coker and Yossi puts us to a disadvantage. Reo has never been able to score, scrap that the man cant shoot full stop. Nether mind the fact the fans hated him for some reason. Yossi made little impact last season and with Ljunberg playing majority of games in his position well i fail to see your point really, are you suggesting we could have done better with Reo and yossi beacuse we were never going to keep tevez anyway so i thionk that arguement is wearing a bit thin.
i no this is abit off subject but even though i like curbs and appreciate what he has done this season with all the inuries weve had i do belive we need a top manager to take us to the next level, with sven maybe leaving citeh could this be a possibility? i for one wouldnt mind having him at the helm?
City had a great first half of the season and a shite second half. They are not scoring goals and Sven is not exactly Mr Charisma either. They currently lie 9th in the league. Now try putting in 'West Ham' and 'Curbs' in the above statement and I think you might see there is not a lot between us and them other than we are 10th. I don't have a problem with Sven I just don't see how he has had a better season than Curbs, so let's stick with what we know and try and get some stability. Changing managers every season is not the way forward. Look at the teams above us. Man U, Arsenal, Everton, Portsmouth, Blackburn. They have all stuck by their managers for the long haul, whereas below us are Bolton, Newcastle, Wigan, Fulham and the like who chop and change and it has got them nowhere. Finally, City's owner is mad. Sven has brought stability and a future to that club and we should feel some sympathy for their fans. Thank God we don't have a nutter owning our club.
Curbs needed to be solid this season. He might come across as a bit slippers and pipe but remember he signed the nutter genius who called himself Di Canio at Charlton
cant say i feel the same way as many others about cole and Zamora. If we are to be pushing for Europe next season i really don't feel one bit confident in cole and zamora to A) to start against the likes of Blackburn, Portsmouth and Aston villa and produce, and B) come on when we are a goal down to Middleboro, Newcastle and totthnam and change the game in our favor. I just want to be realistic and realistically we have to move many players on this window if we are to improve to the standards we are hoping for.
we have been shocking in front of goal this season, but the game on saturday gave me hope for next season. if we can get ashton, zamora, faubert, ljungberg and the rest with maybe 1 or 2 signings playing consistently like that, we will be competing with villa, everton and pompey. saturday will be interesting, but it concerns me that the same back 4 will probably be playing. they have done well but against united when questions are being asked of them it could be a hiding.
We need to hold onto the spine of the team and build around it for next season....up the middle green ....upson ...noble parker...ashton.bellamy... few positions strenghened like wingers and full backs and i can see us having a right go next season (if we sort out the injury crisis). Lets judgw curbs next year as we were consolidating this season and have done alright...If he gets the 11 I think he wants out we can surprise a few people i think COYI
I like Noble i really do, i think he has a lot of talent and is definitely one to keep but for the amount of games he has played this season i have just not seen enough consistency from him. I mean 3 goals is not enough for someone playing in his position, maybe we should bring in another strong central midfielder to play along parker with Noble as our main form of cover and main substitute.
I believe that we should try our best to hang on to freddie ljungberg. Although at the start of the season it was obvious to everyone that he wasnt as good as he should be, in recent games he has picked up pace and was playing consistently well over the last few games.
Also we would be crazy to get rid of Dean Ashton now, although he made some mistakes on saturday he also showed some real skill at some points of the game and what people forget is that he is still young. I also thought that Faubert had a good game on saturday compared to previous performances. But no player deserves as much credit as Scott Parker who really does give everything and I believe was a great buy. COYI!!!
Now that the season is almost over, can we start to get excited about the lack of transfers we will make during the summer?
The appointment of Nani would suggest we were going to be looking a little further a field transfer wise. We all know that Curbs could do with a little help in that department, however im still a little sceptacle. I cant imagine Curbs will be forking out his alloted transfer money on lesser known italian players on the advice of someone he hardly knows, when he could take a safe punt on the more established prem. player. I hope im wrong. As another handful of Boa Morte's & Quashies wouldnt bode well. Now im not saying bring a host of foreign lads, because thats not the West Ham legacy. We have plenty of young talent which needs to be playing in and around our more established players, but sometimes buying abroad has its advantages. That little bit of flair, class and creativity that British boys seem to lack. Buying abroad also provides better value for money if you know where to look. In terms of targets i think we need cover at left back, a young lad who can play the odd game when McCartney is out. A right back, unless Curbs sees Faubert playing there reguarly then we need a proper wing back, someone who can bomb forward and put in a telling cross. We need a player who will make Left Midfield their own. Speed, flair and creativity on both wings are vital. Centre midfield needs another player in the Parker role. Up top Ashton and Bellamy are a really decent partnership if we can ever get them fit and playing together. However if we are to push on up the table we need another guaranteed goal scorer. Mauro Zarate of Birmingham looks a gem, good on the ball, quick, tricky and a smart finisher. Curbs also needs to wield the axe. Mullins, Bowyer, Carlton Cole, Luis Boa Morte, Davenport, Quashie.
Hopefully we can really push on next season. I would be content with 10th. But next season, again, we need to see improvement.
A x
The best bit of business we will do this summer is if we manage to get Deano to sign a long term extended contract. The Newcastle interest is genuine I'm sure & I noticed on Saturday that Keegan made a special point of going over to him at the end. With the amount of stick he's taken this season from our fans about his weight & lack of sharpness & interest it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he wanted to go cos I don't think the club has made him feel important at all. My own view is that he is the best English target man in the Premiership by a mile & we will regret it hugely if he gets away. A fit Deano is awesome, you only have to look at the difference in our performance when he plays. Just think how we were versus Blackburn and Newcastle compared to Derby.
I think we need to hold onto Cole. However, we could put Quashie, Davenport, Bowyer, LBM, Ethers, Gabbidon, Collins and Spector on the market without great loss, even though some (Like Mullins) have played their hearts out for West Ham. I don't know how much we'd get for the whole lot, though, so you might see at least one of the expensive signings depart. IMO we should keep Ljungberg. We need another left back either to support or compete with McCartney. Neill is useful and could provide support in centre if we get thin there. If we do lose Freddie, then a really sharp midfielder is absolutely necessary. Hopefully we don't need to go searching for a world-class striker, because they are the most expensive and in the most demand. If Bellamy were to become well (a BIG if) and the partnerships of Deano/Bellars and Deano/Sears paid off, we'd be OK up front, keeping Cole and Zamora as subs.
We cant really be thinking of signing carr this has to be a joke, but if we are i hope we get him in quick befor man u, chelsea , liverpool, and arsenal get to hear his up for grabs..........
Two things I want to address. First, I'm not a big fan of LBM but I think that booing him before he comes on is really bad form. I can understand people booing him off if he has played sh1t but to boo him before he has even kicked a ball can't be very good for his confidence can it? If he's been brought on surely the fans have got to at least give him a chance before he misses an open goal and/or gets sent off?
Secondly, and probably won't be too popular with his one, but correct me if I'm wrong but Tomkins has fukked up in every game he has played so far and each time it has cost us a goal. I know he's young and we need to play our kids but he obviously ain't up to it yet. Your thoughts please....
Utter bollocks re Tomka. He was beaten by Yakuba by experience sure and he just happened to be the man on the ball for the goal against Newcastle .. Not sure what he was supposed to do ... Grow taller, become superman - who knows ... Fact is he was placed under pressure by the ball being lost in midfield. Tomka is the Beess knees mate .. McCartney played better against newcastle, sure, but he is just a grafter and generally doesnt have the vision or skill of Tomka .. Squad player getting a run cos there is no one else really.
Back the young ones, watch Tomka next year.
Point 1 Yes, Point 2 No. Strodder, I completely agree with you about LBM. I don't think a player in the Claret and Blue should be booed on or booed off. I do think WHUFC should try to offload LBM in the off season, but that's a separate matter. When he came on to replace Freddie, that's just about when the game changed, in case anybody didn't notice. LBM didn't function in the attack the way Freddie does. But no boos please, he goes out there to win just like everybody else. On Tomkins, I see it differently. Yes, I think he's not fully up to it yet, but I think the only way for him to get there is to play in situations like this and get some experience. He hasn't faced anything like Martins and Yakubu in the under 21s. As a defender, there's more at stake if you don't perform at 100%. Compare Freddie Sears, who I also think isn't fully up to it. If he doesn't perform 100%, then he just fails to score a goal; but for Tomkins, a mistake can be very very costly. I'm just really glad these two have a chance to play when there is really not a whole lot at stake. They can make a mistake, and in the long run it doesn't mean much. And from both Tomka and Sears I see some really impressive talent. They're going to be great. So I wouldn't say that he 'f-ed up'; he's still got some learning to do. Look for Tomkins, Sears AND Collison in the match against United. COYI!!!!
who remembers anton in his first season, ten times worse than tomkins, he is defo one for the future.
The goals from Saturday in case you haven't seen them. Great finish from Noble. http://videos.sapo.pt/GjUTGFdeRzCtMy9ozQJz
We need to improve. Yes we would’ve settled for tenth place. But apart from the Derby game, we’ve won only one other game in the last ten and too often played without flair. We’re only 48 points and just four seasons ago went down with 44. We need to improve our % in possession. Basic passing the ball around along the ground, working better opportunities up front. Banging long balls up front from the back lines gives possession away. Our form has worsened as injured players have returned. Sorry but we need to improve on recent form if we are to survive next season.
great post Adelaide. I just want to say i have herd a lot of people saying we are expecting too much by thinking we can sign big names - but if the likes of Newcastle and Toon can be fighting it for Luka Modric well why cant we. We have to get looking for some biger name players than what we are, i will be utterly dissapointed and disgusted quite frankly if the best we can get in this window is Carr, clint Dempsey etc.
I'm with you there Babby. There's no reason why we can't sign top players. We are a club in the Premier League, where footballers from all over the world want to play. Last season there was a good reason for players to give us a wide berth, (we still have some ongoing legal suits to defend but not so publicised) this season we are not likely to go down a division due to legal action so, why not come here? Even if they saw us as a door to another team, get them here first, then worry about keeping them if they produce like Tevez did last season and let them move on if they don't. It is always a risk signing a player from another league, no matter how good they look overseas. I am expecting one or two surprises this time round, fingers crossed!
Don't want to be pedantic, but it was 42 points and a record. The magic number is normally 38 and this season could be as low as 36. If we can beat Villa, not impossible, we have a very creditable 51pts.
I just wonder if AC as been able to field the team he wanted to at any time this season, I think not and until he is able to I think this year is a 'job well done' and next season I think we will expect and get the push on we all desire.
Monday morning again kids. What a great atmosphere Saturday, I new the score and watched the game on Football first and I was proud to here such a positive atmosphere through the match. I think all those that have doubted McCartney's ability should take a long look at the game from Saturday, always pushing forward and putting in good vital crosses able to track back and defend, and for most of the game covering for LBM, for the player that has played all of our games how can anyone doubt his ability he has improved ten fold this season and although we do need cover for the left back position McCartney is doing wonders.
I was thinking over the weekend why so many west ham fans are dissapointed about this season when at the beginning of the season would have been happy with 10th. Now they can't say we spent all that money and have nothing to show for it, because at the beginning of the season when they wanted a 10th place we had still spent all that money, now my conclusion is this, last season we were fighting relegation in a great battle, season before we were in the FA Cup final and deserved to win, season before that we were promoted in the play off final, season before that knocked out of the play offs looking for promotion, season before that fighting relegation and lost. Thats a lot to happen in 5 years and this season we have acheived a lot, but were there is no excitment towards the end of the season our fans seem content on stirring up trouble to make things intresting. Lay off the team and curbs please, they have all done wonders this season and deserve the backing and the credit from all of us that call ourselves west ham fans!
Finally, I hope Freddie has a speedy recovery and Ihope he is back for the Euro's. Good Luck. COYI
Exactly right Phil. What makes me laugh is that the biggest criticism of Curbishley is that he is boring and lacks personality. When did a manager get sacked for being boring and how petty and unprofessional would it make us look if we sacked him for those reasons? People on here have asked, how can you be happy to finish mid table and be a mediocre team? It is not about being mid table, it's about improving, and that is what we have done and done so with up to 14 players or more injured at any time. I think that Curbs and our 'second string' players deserve a lot of credit for what we have achieved this season (regardless of who's to blame for the injuries). Next season, I expect to see an improvement, not just in our position but our performances too, for me, any less would not be good enough. If we can finish with another two performances like we had on Saturday, I am sure a lot of Hammers will be happier and a lot more up-beat about next seasons potential. One last thing. I don't see why or where Freddy Ljungberg will go next season. He is one of our most talented and capable players, I know he is on a high wage but, his knowledge, ability and experience is invaluable for us. I repeat Phil's sentiments and wish him a speedy recovery for the Euros, even though we would possibly benefit from him having a good rest. For all the hype about Freddies wages, he is a professional and plays to win trophies. Does anyone think he is so hard up that he is only here for the money? It may have been a factor but, ultimately, he believes he can help us win some silverware and I for one, hope he stays on even if it's just to cover for the likes of Faubert and Dyer.
That was the best game I've been at all season (except maybe at home v Liverpool). I was up in the Gods at Upper Dr Martin and even up there it was buzzing. So many positives despite the end result. As many have been saying even if we don't get the results we want to see attacking football and that was what we got especially in the first half. Think we need to address the booing of Boa Morte. I genuinely hope he gets sold this summer but still doesn't sit right to be booing a C&B shirt.
Jury's still out on Curbs for me until next season but i think Freddie's injury just about sums us up this season and I think we should get behind him for the next two games. 1 - 1 v Man U and 2 - 1 v the Viles with Reo-Sulker booked for unsporting conduct
Nev....Totally agree with BMS ..and I think your attitude above is rubbing off on a lot o the fans that come on this site....lets wake up and smell the coffee here....We all want success at West Ham and please god we will get it but lets face it we have a long way to go....10th for me is respectable and mayve next year we can imrove and be fighting for a place in europe...lets hop we can hold onto the nucleus of the team and bring in a few good players...also release the weaker championship players...I think collins and upson can be a good partnership next year but really think we need a good right full..COYI ...And Nev when did West Ham ever do exatcly what is said on the tin ?
I agree Barking. At the beginning of the season Curbs said his aim was a top 10 finish and I assume the board agreed with this since bonuses kick in at this position. It's only some of our over enthusiastic colleagues on this site that seemed to have got the idea that we were about to topple Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. As for Ljunberg leaving there are two things we need to bear in mind. 1) He has probably been our best player since the end of January and, 2) Who in their right mind is going to pay him £85,000 a week (which is the rumoured bill) for a player who is well past his prime? Don't be surprised if he is still with us next season, that is unless he moves on because we will continue paying part of his salary, which brings to mind the name Leeds!
I don't get that. What did it say on the can? I thought we were led to believe that this season was about consolidating and getting a finish either 10th or above. It looks pretty much like that is what we have managed to do. I know a couple of months ago the target was moved as we exceeded expectations, points wise for the first half of the season but, was that written on the can that we didn't do? Yes the last couple of months in particular have been disappointing but on the whole the season has been a good step in the right direction and no where nothing like the disaster some people would have us think. Well, that's my opinion, I'm sure there are a number who disagree.
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