Barclays Premier League 13/14 Thread Part 'something'

[Liam]

First topic message reminder :

Boring game but good result for all the top teams around these two really. Difference between Arsenal winning the league and not is a world class striker, because in tight games like these in the big games a world class striker will finish the chance Giroud had. He's been excellent this season but misses far too many to deliver a title. That's what makes Suarez/Agueor and RVP last season the difference in the end.

[Fernando]

West Ham issue Statement on Lard Ass Sam

Like all West Ham United supporters we feel frustrated and hurt by our recent results. We understand how you feel and we, the Board, feel the same.

It is never enjoyable being knocked out of a Cup competition and losing by such a large scoreline to a lower division side is hard to take for us all. We thought the youngsters gave their all and did not stop trying but in the end Nottingham Forest's experience proved too much for us.
I know Sam would have loved to have put out a more varied side, with our talented youngsters accompanied by more senior players in the starting XI. But many key players are out injured and Sam has been handed a near impossible task of coming through three crucial games in the space of six days with a squad of only 14 fit and available senior players. This is not an excuse it is a fact. We know Sam has not lost his ambition or desire and is committed to making West Ham United a great Premier League Club.
We now face a Capital One Cup semi-final on Wednesday followed by a vital Barclays Premier League trip to Cardiff on Saturday. Despite an extremely difficult draw, we are determined to do all we can to get to the Capital One Cup final over two legs with Manchester City. We hope to have several of our missing players back in time for Cardiff and we go there knowing that a win can get us out of the bottom three. Such is the nature of the Premier League this season; there are only six points between us and the team in 13th place.
Make no mistake, though; we are under no illusions as to the seriousness of our current predicament in the Premier League. But on the Board we have a combined talent of running football clubs and we will draw on all of our nous to get West Ham United out of this situation.
We have experienced difficult times before and we know what will get us results - hard work, determination and perseverance. To that end, we are all working round the clock to do everything in our powers to help arrest our slump in form.
Our first priority is to get our key players fit. Our record signing Andy Carroll continues to make good progress following his return to first-team training and he should be back on the pitch very soon along with Hammer of the Year Winston Reid and our other missing central defenders, James Tomkins and James Collins. Trust us, Andy Carroll is desperate to play and is ready to do his bit for the team and we are confident that the return of all of our injured players will lead to an upturn in our fortunes.
Thereafter, our second priority is to bring in the new talent needed to bolster our squad in the most needed areas. January is not an easy time to do business but we are pleased to confirm we are close to securing one of our key striking targets. A defender is high on the list of priorities as well and progress is being made on that front.
Despite our difficulties, what has remained consistent throughout the past few weeks and months is the unwavering level of support you have shown for the team home and away. We took over 3,000 fans to Fulham on New Year's Day and nearly the same number again to Nottingham on Sunday. That has been a constant and successful theme since our record-breaking season under Sam in 2011/12 and I know everyone at the Club is extremely grateful for the unique backing you provide to the team every week.
Following the Cardiff fixture, we have two more vital games in January before a hugely significant February, which has three massive home games. We will go into those games with a much-improved squad and we remain confident that we can turn our season around.
Whilst we have exceeded expectation off the pitch this year, by providing the Olympic Stadium and financial stability by taking personal responsibility for the Club's inherited debts of £100 million, we know that quality on the pitch is more important to you.
We have 103 employees that directly relate to the football teams, but we also have 477 colleagues who work behind the team across all areas of the Club. All of these people are key to our success. We continue to invest in the development of their future by ensuring that West Ham United remains a great place to work.
We understand these are difficult times for the Club and its supporters, but we must stay united and come through the other side together. Please support us and the team - we have no desire to be where we are and we are all doing everything in our power to improve this unenviable situation.
Thank-you once again for your fantastic support.

David Sullivan and David Gold
Joint-Chairmen, West Ham United

[mystiroakey]

Good to see that the manager is getting backing from the board.

Whether I think he should stay or go is here nor there (i am not a fan) but i hate it when owners are publicly disrespectful to there staff.

He hasnt performed well, but he is actually a decent manager- so there is no reason why he cant change things up

[Guest]

Walcott out for 6 months

No world cup for him

[socal1976]

Can't believe the news on Theo, he was playing so well before the injury. Arsenal are snake bitten again by injuries. So tough for the young man who in the last couple of seasons had really come into his own for club and country. This will really hurt our chances in the league, I think this forces Arsene's hands a bit to buy a striker as the Theo up top option is done till next year.

[Fernando]

Dave Jones now favorite to be WBA manager.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Lolz that can't be serious nando surely?!

[Fernando]

Aye he's gone from 100/1 to 5/1 favorite inside the last few hours.

That's a long way to fall and a lot of money to put on somewhere. Id love it if the Wolves fans were trolling though   

[NickisBHAFC]

Dave Jones? the bloke who couldn't hack the Sheffield Wednesday job.

[Fernando]

Dave Jones? the bloke who couldn't hack the Sheffield Wednesday job.

That's what you took from his name? Really lol not the fact that he used to be Wolves manager?   

[NickisBHAFC]

Didn't know he used to be Wolves manager

All i know about the bloke, is he kept on bottling big games with Cardiff City and then couldn't hack the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

You think Wolves manager? I always think Southampton's sullied Saint. And he was at Cardiff longer!

It doesnt take a mass amount of many to tip a market like that so could still be nonsense, he'd be shorter if they were really scared

[mystiroakey]

Can't believe the news on Theo, he was playing so well before the injury. Arsenal are snake bitten again by injuries.  So tough for the young man who in the last couple of seasons had really come into his own for club and country. This will really hurt our chances in the league, I think this forces Arsene's hands a bit to buy a striker as the Theo up top option is done till next year.

i have a feeling he could have healed in 4 weeks but instead is going for an operation to re set something or whatever(I am not a doctor as you can tell) and that is why he will be out for 6 months. I just wish he could take the operation after the WC

Gutted for him. One of England's best players and now that arsenal are going to either have to buy a striker this window and if not definitely a bigger name in the summer(because Walcott wont have proved anything up front) Walcott may not get the striker chance again!!

[Duty281]

Can't believe the news on Theo, he was playing so well before the injury. Arsenal are snake bitten again by injuries.  So tough for the young man who in the last couple of seasons had really come into his own for club and country. This will really hurt our chances in the league, I think this forces Arsene's hands a bit to buy a striker as the Theo up top option is done till next year.

i have a feeling he could have healed in 4 weeks but instead is going for an operation to re set something or whatever(I am not a doctor as you can tell) and that is why he will be out for 6 months. I just wish he could take the operation after the WC

Gutted for him. One of England's best players and now that arsenal are going to either have to buy a striker this window and if not definitely a bigger name in the summer(because  Walcott wont have proved anything up front) Walcott may not get the striker chance again!!

That could make sense. If I remember rightly, Steven Gerrard had a niggle or something in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup and he didn't have surgery. The injury came back to haunt him on the last day of the season, and he missed the World Cup anyway.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/england/newsid_1983000/1983928.stm

So hopefully Theo's made the right call in the long-run.

[Mat]

If I was a betting man, I'd be having money on Martin Jol or Thomas Schaaf. Not a chance it will be Dave Jones...he says hopefully.

[Fernando]

You think Wolves manager? I always think Southampton's sullied Saint. And he was at Cardiff longer!

It doesnt take a mass amount of many to tip a market like that so could still be nonsense, he'd be shorter if they were really scared

My dad is a Wolves fan, Poor sod    Seems a drastic drop but that being said would be a bad appointment like Bruce @ Sunderland

[NickisBHAFC]

I have no idea why West Brom don't appoint Mackay. He is a brilliant manager.

[Mat]

There is an awful lot of baggage with Mackay, because compensation etc hasn't been agreed with Cardiff after his sacking. And I think he has become slightly over-rated because of the situation with Tan.

Also heard that he thinks he can get a better job than ours, but not sure how true that is. Like I said, I'd bank on us appointing Jol or Schaaf, or another unknown foreigner.

[NickisBHAFC]

Still also have no idea why Steve Clarke got the chop. Was working wonders.

[Mat]

He really wasn't.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

They lost to us at home. Just let that sink in.

He should've been fired in the dugout there and then

[NickisBHAFC]

West Brom chairman should be given the sack for sacking such a brilliant manager.

Won at old trafford, had it not been for the referee they would of won at the bridge. They weren't in danger of going down when Clarke was there, they are now.

West Brom are not a big side in that league, he had them well punching above there weight.

[Fernando]

Id have sacked Clarke his record was poor 7 out of 34 is poor unless your Brighton then it's usual. That being said i would not of sacked him without a replacement lined up.

[Liam]

See I think most of us non west brom fans would all say what you're saying nick but most wba fans have said for a long time he needed out. In fairness, his record in the last year has been relegation form and performances were dire. Allot of the criticisms I heard from my mate was:

-He had his favorites who shouldn't have been playing i.e. Brunt
-He took too long or made subs too late in a match. I saw this for the first time against Villa. They brought on Agbonlahor and Weimann and he failed to react and Villa got back into the game

I think when your own fans who go week in week out say for Clarke to be sacked, you have to take their word for it. The stats speak for themselves at the end of the day.

[Mat]

Same reaction from everyone when we sacked Di Matteo, got Hodgson in and we kicked on a level.

He had us punching above our weight for half of last season. It was only because of how rubbish everyone else was that we stayed 8th. We won 7 games in a year! A whole year! How is that acceptable? Would you accept that at the poor mans Albion Nick? 34 points in 38 games, that is relegation form. He had 3 wins to his name this season, 2 of those came at home to, imo, the two worst sides in the league(Sunderland and Palace).

Clarke was also responsible for the signings of the following; Anelka, Lugano, Anichebe and Sinclair. They've ranged from disappointing to just down right catastrophic and stupid in the case of Anichebe. He also ignored the best striker we signed in the summer(Vydra) and under-used Berahino.

He made the same poor tactical decisions pretty much every game, and the style of play wasn't exactly good to watch. You can accept defensive football when it's winning football(Roy) but not when it's getting you nowhere.

[socal1976]

Can't believe the news on Theo, he was playing so well before the injury. Arsenal are snake bitten again by injuries.  So tough for the young man who in the last couple of seasons had really come into his own for club and country. This will really hurt our chances in the league, I think this forces Arsene's hands a bit to buy a striker as the Theo up top option is done till next year.

i have a feeling he could have healed in 4 weeks but instead is going for an operation to re set something or whatever(I am not a doctor as you can tell) and that is why he will be out for 6 months. I just wish he could take the operation after the WC

Gutted for him. One of England's best players and now that arsenal are going to either have to buy a striker this window and if not definitely a bigger name in the summer(because  Walcott wont have proved anything up front) Walcott may not get the striker chance again!!

I think Arsenal for sure will buy a big name striker by next season. I just don't know if there is anything in the market right now that will make Arsene fork over big bucks. He said it recently himself that he has to get the type of player that can make a difference and is better than what he already has. Those type of players are not readily available at this point in the season.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Both Clarke and Mackay were rightly sacked. Apparently to be brilliant these days you just have to be a relatively fresh name

[Guest]

Bookies already taking bets on Redknapp being the new West Ham boss.

Didn't realise Louise knew that much about football.

[mystiroakey]

Holloway has gone millwall

er........ I dont know what to think about that one..

[Ent]

Good lower league manager, will likely do well with them.

[GSC]

Holloways best served at smaller championship clubs like Blackpool Millwall and Palace. It's when expectations arise that he tends to underperform.

West Ham signing Roger Johnson. 4 relegations in 4 seasons?

[mystiroakey]

Its not that. Its the fact that Millwall are our biggest rivals.

He will do really well for him. I know that much.

By the way calling palace a small championship club is pretty silly mate. We are a decent championship outfit. Comparing us to blackpool and millwall is below the belt

[Dolphin Ziggler]

I'm happy hes gone there, at least 4 confirmed points if we go down.

If Sheff Wednesday go down too then Roger Johnson can actually hold claim to 5 relegations in 4 seasons. Thats quite impressive

[NickisBHAFC]

Its not that. Its the fact that Millwall are our biggest rivals.

He will do really well for him. I know that much.

By the way calling palace a small championship club is pretty silly mate. We are a decent championship outfit. Comparing us to blackpool and millwall is below the belt

Most palace fans tend to disagree.

[mystiroakey]

Maybe

[Mat]

Pepe Mel new West Brom head coach on an 18 month deal. Viva Pepe Mel!

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Took long enough!

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

West Brom fans are excited about Pepe Mel. He's had 9 clubs in 13 years, been fired more than the cast of the apprentice.

He's also had just 2 top flight jobs, one ended in relegation and the other one fired him. Good luck West Brom.

#davejonesgotrobbed

[Dolphin Ziggler]

[Mat]

West Brom fans are excited about Pepe Mel. He's had 9 clubs in 13 years, been fired more than the cast of the apprentice.

He's also had just 2 top flight jobs, one ended in relegation and the other one fired him. Good luck West Brom.

#davejonesgotrobbed

Took Betis to 7th last season but then his squad got butchered in the summer, losing his best players. Reputation for attractive football and to top it all off, his daughter is a bona fide stunner.   

[Duty281]

Can't say that this Pep Mel bloke is a great manager on paper. And he doesn't even speak the lingo apparently. Still, I was rather sceptical of the-Argie-who-tripped-Owen-in-2002 being appointed at Southampton, and he's done alright thus far.

And his daughter (Iris Mel if you wanna google) is an absolute stunner (thank you Mat!).

[Lumbering_Jack]

Iris Mel is ok, but nothing spectacular.

[NickisBHAFC]

Pepe Mel who?

Rubbish appointment. Should of stuck with Steve Clarke. Or at least gone for Malky Mackay or Martin Jol.

[westisbest]

Iris Mel is ok, but nothing spectacular.

I googled her, she's nice enough.

On google images though, they also had pictures of mel B.

Scarey: 

[Mat]

Change your tune Nick, it's getting boring now. Can't be bothered to explain again why Clarke got sacked.

Not sure many knew who Oscar Garcia was, he's doing a decent job. Being a name means nothing.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Ahhh Nick, like the old racist in the pub he never stops even when he's proven wrong.

It'll either be very good or a disaster. He's highly rated by many but having had struggles he may not get to grips with our intensity quickly.

David Sullivan: I really don’t know the answer. It’s £4million to sack him now, nothing if we get relegated. No compensation at all if we go down.

DS: How do you think we feel? If we go down we cannot afford to subsidise the club any longer.

We're long term and short term screwed. It's kind of funny in a gallows humour kind of way, this is the west ham I know. We get a good squad then go to pieces. Every silver lining has a cloud

[sodhat]

"Fortune's always hiding...."

I disagree this is a good squad though. It's a functional squad that does the job only if all the component parts are working. Not having Carroll effectively made it a group of blokes that can't play the way they're built to.

They might be risking the messiah himself on Saturday though, He shall return and deliver goals. And if He doesn't, Sam gets sacked and we're doomed.

[Duty281]

There's only one Andy Carroll...

And he's going to save West Ham's season!

[sodhat]

Capitalise that "He" when referring to the messiah.

[Duty281]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18465161

Yes Andy!

[Liam]

big sam is gone if they lose on saturday hundred percent, and i have a sneaky feeling cardiff will win comfortably, 3-0. It just always seems to happen in these sorts of games.

In other news, Rooney and RVP out of saturday's game against Swansea. Struggling to get them back for Chelsea as well. I'd probably go for: De Gea/Rafa, Evans (doubt so smalling), Vidic, Evra/Carrick, Giggs, Januzaj, Valencia, Kagawa/Welbeck. Stick a cheeky tenner on Swansea I would, and i'm a utd fan. Just can't call it saturday.

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