Could've, should've

It should not have come to a late chance on the wrong side for Scott Parker for West Ham to beat Reading on Boxing Day at Upton Park. Parker tried to get the ball onto his stronger right foot and was unable to reproduce the magic that brought the Hammers a 2-1 win on Saturday at Middleborough. Instead, West Ham had to settle for a 1-1 draw against a Reading side that played 10 men for an hour.

I watched the Boxing Day match at the Globe, and I was chatting with someone about the game afterwards as I finished my pint of Beamish (I had but two pints -- it was a 7 a.m. kickoff). My theory is that, with the injuries that West Ham have, they are more comfortable playing on the road because they aren't expected to bring the game to their opponent. They are able to defend and counterattack, with little pressure to create early chances. At Upton Park, they have to push the play, and when they don't, the home fans get on them and the opposition gets a little wind in their sails that they aren't on the back foot. Given the lack of creativity and pace available to the side right now, it's tough for West Ham to be the offensive aggressor.

As happy as I am that Dean Ashton is back and close to full fitness, and as encouraged as I am by the improved play of Carlton Cole, the Hammers miss Craig Bellamy's pace and touch at striker. On the left wing, they had Matthew Etherington and Luis Boa Morte get injured at nearly the same time leaving them to play Freddie Ljungberg there. Ljungberg, at this point, is not a 90-minute player any longer. He has little left in the tank. As the guy that I was talking to Wednesday morning said, when Arsene Wenger lets a player go, there's a good reason. The Hammers, as I mentioned below, also miss Lee Bowyer and his ability to get forward and make timely runs into the penalty area. The other position that has been hit with multiple injuries is centre half. Anton Ferdinand has been out long-term, and then, just as James Collins was returning to fitness, Danny Gabbidon got hurt. Collins soon followed Gabbidon back to the physio's room, leaving Jonathan Spector, a natural fullback, to play centre half. Spector has had his good and bad moments in the two matches that I have watched him play in the middle of the backline. He conceded the free kick that led to 'Boro's goal in the 2-1 win at the Riverside, and he also was one of a few Hammers who could have, but didn't, mark Jeremie Aliadiere on the ensuing set piece. Aliadiere headed back for David Wheater to knock it home. Thankfully, Spector is playing alongside Matthew Upson, who has been a rock for West Ham this term -- he and Robert Green are the only Hammers to play every minute in the Premiership.

It was very frustrating to watch West Ham play with little urgency going forward against 10-man Reading, even though I understand the personnel limitations. Ashton was a step slow all day, and maybe I should have expected that, as Ashton was playing his second match in five days after having been injured for much of the past 16 months. (Ashton did have a goal-of-the-week quality strike for the equaliser against Middlesborough.) Cole, back from a hip injury, was the better striker on Boxing Day. Perhaps he wasn't able to continue any longer, but I would have preferred to see Henri Camara come on for someone other than Cole -- say Ljungberg. With Reading on 10 men, I think that West Ham could have risked playing 4-3-3 for 20 minutes at the end of the match. I suppose Alan Curbishley didn't want a repeat of the opening match of the season, when West Ham played 4-3-3 at the end as they chased the game against Manchester City and watched the Sky Blues score again to go up 2-0. This time, of course, there was already a point in hand, but there was also a man advantage. Getting back to Cole, he made a nice run that fizzled out but set the stage for Nolberto Solano to score the first goal of the Reading match. Unfortunately, the Hammers couldn't find another moment of brilliance like Parker's at Middlesbrough.

Not sure I'd enjoy that

As I was enjoying that pint of Beamish Wednesday morning, Manchester United were demolishing Sunderland on Wearside, scoring three in the first half on the way to winning 4-0. The match was featured in the back room of the Globe, and the Red Devil fans filled the room. West Ham had been on back there, but I moved to the front bar a few minutes after the second match began. The first two goals brought polite clapping from the back room. They were rather pedestrian goals for Manchester United. The third goal brought a more lively response, and watching the replay, I could see why, as Cristiano Ronaldo had curled in another perfect free kick from just outside the penalty area. The Man U fans were, relative to the first two goals, going crazy this time. They had twice as many fans back there, but the noise sounded half as loud as we Hammers fans were when Nolberto Solano scored to put the Hammers up 1-0 earlier in the morning. I likened the Man U reactions to a golf clap. Maybe I would feel differently if I supported Manchester United and got used to so much winning, but I hope I'm always moved a lot more than that by a West Ham goal. I hope I'm stirred that way a couple of times on Saturday against the Red Devils themselves as Carlos Tévez marks his return to Upton Park, but I'm not optimistic.

Doubly bad

I was crushed as I listened to Everton's late winner in the League Cup over West Ham at Upton Park. I had been eagerly awating extra time when Yakubu took advantage of a real howler to score the winner in a 2-1 Everton victory. It's simple why I was so disappointed: It was their best chance. The bigger clubs just don't concern themselves as much with the League Cup as they do the FA Cup. Just look at this chart put together recently by the Daily Telegraph:

Year	FA Cup	League Cup
2007	Chelsea	Chelsea
2006	Liverpool	Man Utd
2005	Arsenal	Chelsea
2004	Man Utd	Middlesbrough
2003	Arsenal	Liverpool
2002	Arsenal	Blackburn
2001	Liverpool	Liverpool
2000	Chelsea	Leicester
1999	Man Utd	Tottenham
1998	Arsenal	Chelsea

Four out of the last 10 League Cup winners came from outside of the Big Four -- I mean, Leicester won it in 2000. Sure, they were in the Premiership then, but still. I really, really liked the idea of West Ham playing a two-legged semifinal tie in the League Cup. Unfortunately, they were not at anything close to full strength when they ran into one of the hottest teams in the Premiership in Everton, a team that also is desperate for a trophy, unlike the Big Four.

Regarding that terrible goal that gave Everton their 2-1 win, I think the best way to look at it is as a failure of Robert Green, Danny Gabbidon and Matthew Upson, collectively. It was a long ball that none made a good, decisive play on. I agree that the centre backs caused the problem by failing to deal with a ball that they should have easily cleared, either up the pitch or at worst over the touchline. That said, Green, again, has to be more decisive when coming out for balls at the far third of his penalty area. He can't keep coming up short, especially if he hopes to play for England. It's a shame that Gabbidon made this mistake, because I've been re-evaluating my opinion of him. Here's what I was writing about him during and after the Blackburn game:

I have been kind of tough on Gabbidon. But he was very, very steady all day long, and he's finally got enough confidence to make clearances instead of just putting everything over the touchline or byline. He made a confident reversal with a man on him to clear down the pitch in the dying minutes of regular time.

My friend James and I were emailing about Fabio Capello after he was hired. (Quick verdict on Capello: Good hire, and thank God, because I'm tired of hearing about the England national team.) We also discussed the League Cup loss and the (at the time) upcoming Premiership immediate rematch with Everton, and he asked my opinion. Here's what I had to say:

I saw the replay of the Everton winner on Fox Soccer Channel's nightly Report program. Awful. I blame the centre backs as much as Green. Green would have stayed on his line if the two centre backs had dealt properly with the ball in the first place. He came late because they didn't do what they needed to do, and that's how mishaps like this seem to happen, in my limited experience watching football.

The problem for West Ham is goal scoring, of course. They are short-handed at striker and don't have enough creativity in the midfield to make up for it. I never thought I'd say this, but getting Lee Bowyer back would help some -- at least he makes runs at the appropriate time to take passes from the centre forwards. Bellamy could help more, if he can get fit and not pout when he's on the pitch. (Bowyer and Bellamy seem to have permanent snarls on their faces. As long as they aren't giving too much stick to the referee, I kind of like that about them, although I'd prefer a stone-faced midfielder who can create chances over either of them.) Green will need to keep a clean sheet for West Ham to win, I think.

Incidentally, it was interesting that on the weekend after the League Cup loss that two of the best keepers in the Premiership -- Petr Cech of Chelsea and Edwin van der Saar of Manchester United -- made some mistakes on crosses. For Cech -- regarded by some as the greatest keeper in the world, not just the Premier League -- it cost his side the game, as his misjudgement of Cesc Fabregas's corner kick allowed William Gallas to head home the only goal of a 1-0 Arsenal victory at the Emirates Stadium. I wasn't able to watch either Everton match. The League Cup tie wasn't televised in the United States, unless I missed something. It ran up against Matchday Six of the Champions League, which may have taken up all the satellite options. The 2-0 deafeat in the Premiership was available on satellite, but I couldn't watch it, as TMG and I were traveling for my cousin's wedding in Toronto. Just as well, probably, eh?

He would say that, wouldn't he?

I don't know how much help Robert Green had with this article, but Green wrote an impressive ode to the selection of Fabio Capello as England manager. Obviously, Green hopes to be called into the side by the new manager. I still thought it was well written and reasoned. I think it was particularly interesting to read Green's descriptions of being in the England camp for training -- especially that he has spent more time training at left-back than at keeper.

Eggy steps down, sells stake

There's a baseball writer in Chicago who frequently -- too frequently in my opinion -- uses allusions to movies and television shows in his articles. These references are a stretch in most cases, as far as I am concerned. TMG has heard me complain about him many times. So I feel a bit hypocritical in writing that Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson's moves to buy out Eggert Magnússon's stake in West Ham and take greater control of the operations of the club remind me a lot of the movie Fargo. Maybe it's just all the Scandinavian names.

In Fargo, as you may recall, Jerry Lundegaard (brilliantly played by William H. Macy) is a bumbling car salesman who tries to cover his losses at the dealership owned by his father-in-law (I thought that I had forgotten what led to those losses, but IMDB says that the losses are never explained in the movie) by hiring two men to kidnap his wife, with the idea that he will pay them off and keep the rest of the ransom money. When it comes time to give the money to the kidnappers, the wealthy father-in-law, Wade Gustafson, and his right-hand man, Stan Grossman, tell Lundegaard that they'll be handling the rest of the deal.

I couldn't help think of this turn of events as I read the stories -- particularly the ones in Friday's paper that followed up on the scoop by Jason Burt of the Independent -- that told of Gudmundsson's concern at the reckless wages granted by West Ham under Magnússon. (It's only partially because his name is Swedish that this makes me think of Freddie Ljungberg.)

The Guardian reported in Friday's edition:

But a number of decisions [Magnússon] took as chairman, most particularly in player-wage negotiations, did alarm Gudmundsson and may be considered to have contributed to his departure.

The Times's Friday story also suggests that Magnússon was too free with the wages:

It is believed that his handling of the Carlos Tévez affair, culminating in the Argentina forward's sale to Manchester United, did not impress fellow members of the board. Neither did the glut of new players signed this year, many of whom were handed lucrative contracts in the region of £70,000 a week.

Burt reported that Gudmundsson will invest £30.5 million in the club, not for the transfer kitty, but on new training facilities and the expanded scouting network that Gudmundsson wants. Other reports suggested that the money would also go towards the planning and development of West Ham's proposed new 60,000 seat, £250 million stadium on the Parcelforce site near the West Ham tube stop.

The Times also mentions that West Ham are looking to hire a technical director, something that has been reported before. Manager Alan Curbishley will have great say over this hiring, the Times says, and it will be clear that the technical director has no say over the first team, the report says.

From a wire story on the changes:

Gudmundsson has appointed his trusted aide Asgeir Fridgeirsson as vice-chairman and Mike Lee, the former Premier League, UEFA and London 2012 Olympic bid communications director, to be a board member.

The new board will comprise: Gudmundsson (chairman), Fridgeirsson (vice-chairman), Lee, Thor Kristjansson, Gudmundur Oddsson with executive directors Scott Duxbury (chief executive) and Nick Igoe (finance director).

In the Telegraph, David Bond writes that the moves ensure that Gudmundsson has a much tighter control over the club. It dissolves three boards who oversaw the various goings on at West Ham with a single board. Perhaps I don't understand exactly how these football PLCs are set up, but I have to wonder how much of a difference it makes when one man increases his stake from 95% to 100%. Wasn't Gudmundsson already in full control? I supposed that these moves may further cement his direct involvement with the club, especially with the appointment of his right-hand man, Fridgeirsson.

I'll say this: If Gudmundsson's ambitions are to be met, then players like these two will have to be bought and kept by West Ham, rather than snatched out of the club as soon as they "prove" that they can play in England.

Not that impressive, really

It was a few days after the fact, but I finally got around to watching Everton's tie last week at Goodison Park against Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Cup. I wanted to watch it as a preview of West Ham's two matches this week against Everton at Upton Park: Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Carling Cup and Saturday in the Premiership. Everton beat Zenit 1-0, and it wasn't the most impressive display for the Toffees. Zenit played 10 men for about an hour, and yet, they had nearly as many chances going forward as Everton. Playing at home against a 10-man side, Everton seemed tentative attacking. Given how tightly West Ham are playing at the back of late, I like their chances this week. Everton, unlike the three top sides in the Carling Cup final eight (only Manchester United among the top four has been eliminated), are going to be taking this one seriously.

West Ham have been taking the League Cup seriously, too. Will manager Alan Curbishley be taking the cup tie seriously enough to start Robert Green for the first time in the Carling Cup this year? Curbishely won't say. Freddie Ljungberg is expected to be back for the match, taking the place of Nolberto Solano, who is cup-tied and therefore ineligible. I was disappointed to find out that this match does not seem to be available on TV anywhere in the U.S. The match was moved up a week before the rest of the Carling Cup quarterfinals to accomodate Everton's UEFA Cup match next week.

Dec. 12 also marks one year since Curbishley joined West Ham as manager two days after the dismissal of Alan Pardew. Besides a good League Cup run, Curbishley seemingly would be happy with a nice, quiet season with a mid-table finish. I'd love to see more, but I can't say a solid 9th or 10th in the Premiership would be so bad. I have my own anniversary regarding West Ham coming up on Dec. 17. A year ago on that date, I happened to catch the end of West Ham's 1-0 win over Manchester United at Upton Park, which was Curbishley's first match at the helm. That 15 minutes or so that I saw are what hooked me on football in general and West Ham in particular. For the first five months or so, I wasn't sure that was a good thing.

I have a ton of notes on the Blackburn game, but I haven't organized them into a post. I hope to get to it soon.

Style conscious

The West End of London is the stylish side of town, and Roman Abramovich expects style out of his £300 million side. Abramovich's expectations led to the sacking of José Mourinho earlier this year and was replaced by avuncular Avram Grant. The Israeli manager was supposed to bring beautiful football to Stamford Bridge, but outside observers don't see it that way, and it wasn't any different when West Ham crossed London for the early game Saturday.

The Guardian and the Independent both sided with Alan Curbishley's view that the "new" Chelsea isn't any more stylish than the old, very successful one. After the game, Curbishley said that not much has changed under Grant, but that he got some of his big players back (Frank Lampard and John Terry), Didier Drogba's hot and Grant just told them to "get on with it." The Independent's Sam Wallace also disagreed with Grant's claim that West Ham did nothing but defend in their 1-0 loss at the Bridge. Wallace put it down to poor finishing from Carlton Cole and substitute Dean Ashton that West Ham didn't get a point.

I did not watch the match. It was a 6:45 a.m. start here, and it was also TMG's birthday. Frankly, it's hard to imagine me hauling myself out of bed early enough for that match anyway, but there was simply no way that I could justify waking TMG up for a match at that hour on her birthday. I saw the highlights of the match on my recording of the Aston Villa-Arsenal match (a heck of a first half in that one, but I knew the score when I watched it, so I skipped the second half). The highlights were very Chelsea-centric, and that's no surprise, as once or twice a week I see someone walking around downtown Chicago wearing a Chelsea track jacket or something else in blue with "Samsung" across the front. All of that is a long way around of saying that I saw very few West Ham chances, so I can't confirm or disagree with Wallace's contention. I saw a couple involving Nolberto Solano and one involving Luis Boa Morte.

Wallace also slipped in a dig at Ashton, saying he was the size of a linebacker rather than a centre forward. Being so new to watching the game, and especially the EPL, I don't know what Ashton looked like before his injury. I never saw him play before this season. But even to me, he does look rather large in the upper body these days. A player like Craig Bellamy is fairly ripped, too, but not as bulky as Ashton. Perhaps he overdid the upper body workouts while his leg was immobilized.

As to Grant's claim that West Ham deserved more yellow cards, both the Times and the Telegraph suggested that John Mikel Obi's challenge on Scott Parker in the first half was the most vicious of the match.

West Ham remain 10th in the table and take on Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Sunday. Blackburn are coming off a 3-1 dismantling of Newcastle and have the week off from UEFA Cup action. I'll get to watch this one, as it's on Fox Soccer Channel. It also pits my side against the one favored by my friend BT, who would be better described as a Brad Friedel fan. They both grew up in the Cleveland area.

Going, going...

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley reportedly wants to thin out the squad a bit in the January transfer window and is no longer interested in summer targets Eidur Gudjohnsen and Adriano. Besides the fact that Adriano doesn't want to come to the East End, why wouldn't West Ham want him? Curbishley likes the atmosphere inside the club, apparently, and that's nice, but the Irons have scored 19 goals in 14 Premiership matches. Yes, their top strike partnership of Dean Ashton and Craig Bellamy have both been out for much of the season, but, when healthy, neither one of them is a fit Adriano. Again, it's a moot point, because Adriano doesn't want to come to West Ham anyway.

Even without reinforcements coming in, one striker could be on the way to Fulham, the Independent report said:

Which of...
West Ham's strikers
Is sought at the Cottage?
That's Zamora.

Yeah, I'm not a song writer.

Before my time

The Times posted a list of the greatest matches in West Ham history. They are all well before I started watching, although the run-in last season was mentioned by one of the readers who posted a comment.

That's Spurstainment!

I greatly enjoyed this article/column on Tottenham Hotspur by David Hytner of the Guardian. I watched all three of the Spurs matches covered in it (starting with West Ham at Upton Park, then two matches at White Hart Lane: Aalborg (Denmark) in the UEFA Cup and Birmingham City). Ramos's willingness to make changes and emphasize the strength of Spurs -- its attacking -- is refreshing and probably the right course, given the players he has to work with. It won't always work, as Sunday's loss to Birmingham City shows, but it will stand Spurs in good stead if they ever figure out their backline. Their transfer activity has been so focused on attacking players (Darren Bent, even Garreth Bale, despite being a fullback, is an attacking player), when they need another centre half, and perhaps a utility player who can play at both centre half and as a holding midfielder. But they're always entertaining, at least.

Speaking of Spurs, I'd like to mention that Fox Soccer Channel's Bobby McMahon agreed with Mike Riley's calls in the West Ham-Tottenham match.