premier league

Andriy Yarmolenko's heroic exploits of the last fortnight go some way to show how important the game of football can be through entire countries and communities, his home country Ukraine is still under remorseless assault by Mad Monk Putin's overwhelming but under performing military, football has now become a forgotten pleasure.

Sometimes you have to chuckle at 'transfer coup' articles, whether it is at those who wrote them or those who are stupid enough to believe them. The latest click bait Rashford to West Ham stories are more than stories, much more they are indeed works of fine fiction.

Let us examine the essential elements of a 'good read', bearing in mind most Journo's would sell their Grandmothers at the drop of a hat and are genetically born as compulsive liars who would most definitely NOT let the truth get in the way of a 'good story'.

Finally it appears as if West Ham have managed to break their self imposed transfer embargo, the frenzied activity of the last few days seem to finally be paying off as the club looks forward to welcoming the off the radar loan signing of Liverpool's Divock Origi to its ranks. It may not be the marquee type of signing fans wanted, more of a one man tent, but at least it is a bit of fresh blood to liven up the squad.

News that young Hammers striker Mipo Odubeko has joined relegation strugglers Doncaster Rovers hasn't gone down too well with some Hammers fans, there are those questioning the logic behind sending a forward out on loan, albeit an inexperienced one, when the club only has ONE recognised striker!

Murmurings about Hammers lack of recruitment during this transfer window have grown increasingly louder as the days tick by, the facts are simple but the reasons multitudinous as to why exactly David Moyes has failed to sanction even ONE transfer so far.

Unless the financial backing available from the board is pure fabrication, which we very much doubt, then the only reasons must be three fold. Either the players available aren't good enough, or they are too expensive or currently unavailable and can only be signed in the next window.

Last weekend's FA Cup tie against Leeds United was essentially a dress rehearsal for this afternoon's Premier League clash, some will say this game is FAR more important than last weekend's cup tie. FA Cup competition supporters will not be pleased to hear that, it is indeed rather sad that a competition that once lit up the calendar has now by and large been sidelined, gone are the days when supporters who didn't have tickets to the final would sit for hours ahead of the game, glued to their TV screens in anticipation of the main event.

Hammers fans have grown accustomed to seeing David Moyes and his coaching staff prowling around the dug out during games including England set piece adviser Paul Nevin, he who is always speaking into a 'lip mic'. Ever wonder who on earth he is speaking to? Well none other than Psycho himself, Stuart Pearce. Around the time the Pandemic first made games crowdless, David Moyes tested positive and had to view the matches remotely, relying on his staff to keep him informed during the game.

Ahead of this afternoon's 'six pointer' between Manchester City and West Ham, both managers almost went to extreme measures in order to 'compliment' each other's teams during their pre-match pressers. The respect is mutual but does contain an underlying myth busting message.

In the light of UEAFA's 'sudden' ban imposed on Hammers travelling fans, many who have already purchased tickets AND paid substantial amounts of money on hotels and air flights intend to go to Vienna to be part of the game and take in the atmosphere, either through sitting in local bars with fellow Hammers supporters or, more controversially, by accessing tickets originally intended for home supporters.

Having been repeatedly ignored by Gareth Southgate, Michail Antonio chose to represent Jamaica instead of England, he scored for the Reggae Boyz against El Salvador the other day and has just scored a stunning goal against the USA, from OUTSIDE the box!