We survived.

West Ham on the opening day. I've seen prettier sites checking the bottom of my shoe to see if I'd just stepped in dog shit. I wrote a piece detailing how, although pre-season results shouldn't be given an inch of your time (and they shouldn't), the style and system in which we approach these games inherently should. This game seemingly worked try and go out of its' way to contradict literally every word I wrote.

Although, that wasn't quite what was top of my mind when I was watching us play at West Ham. I couldn't help but imagining the dangerously unsettling comparisons between our performance across the 90 minutes and the regular drivel we had to endure under Sherwood. The notable thing that we did manage to avoid was an all too typical collapse at the first sniff of danger. The game almost reminded me of the Cardiff away fixture last season. We flattered to deceive for much of it before a new boy popped up and scored a late winner.

That first sniff of danger was our back four. Hands up at the end of last season who'd have predicted Naughton & Rose would be starting our first Premier League of the new season. Neither did I. Kaboul, sadly, is not the player he was in 2011/2012 & the wildcard that is Eric Dier could be hit or miss.

I must've watched this game with my hands over my eyes because up until Naughton saw red, I've been informed that we were doing admirably up until this point. I remember us being slack in possession and moving the ball at a snail pace. We looked a minor shadow of ourselves system wise that we saw more or less in every pre-season fixture. It wasn't the fact that we even put into practice this fresh approach and West Ham stifled it, it was more that we lacked the confidence to try and put it into practice in the first place.

We'd seen a far more pragmatic side that were more direct in their passing style but we struggled to get out of our final third at times on Saturday. We lacked that extra midfield option when the defence had the ball or lacked that option in the final third when Bentaleb came deep to collect that first pass. Maybe pushing Capoue back into CB affected this but we struggled even at 11 vs. 11.

We've big hopes for Lamela this year but I feel giving him this seemingly free role almost stifles Eriksen's effectiveness in the final third. Lamela consistently picked up the ball but struggled to know his next move when receiving and often tried too hard to impress. He'd miss the more simple-yet-effective ball more often than not and looked a little lost positionally when out of possession. I maintain that giving him a permanent role right would allow him to work on his game as well as a role that would exploit the best of Erik as well as the system we're trying to implement. This would further allow Eriksen to adopt a more permanent role centrally and allow him to flourish where he is arguably his most dangerous.

Maybe the system needs time. In fact, there's no doubt it does. One player that slotted like he'd been at the club for years was Eric Dier. His positioning, no-nonsense attitude and versatility were exceptional. Considering his debut was arguably made all the more difficult as he was forced to shift over to RB when Naughton did see red, he performed admirably in his first outing.

It's always satisfying to pick up three points on the opening day but I think it's understandable to expect the more pragmatic approach we'd seen in pre-season to be adopted more regularly as time proceeds. We've still to welcome back a host of players from the World Cup as well as a couple of weeks left of this window. The signals have definitely been quietly optimistic, but it's clear that time is still the most valuable thing Pochettino needs at his disposal.

Regards,
Ben

Let's not make the same mistake.

Even the thought back to Upton Park this season when we visited those East Londoner's still gives me the occasional groan and a tut as West Ham walked away from their cup final having finally taken 3 points off us for the first time in years. Celebrating like they'd won the league, it's unsurprising that they still lurk in the bottom 3 of the Premier League as they struggle to climb up the table.

Injuries proved instrumental in re-shaping our side thus playing a big part in this result that day. Hutton at full back with Corluka and Bass sitting inside with Bale restricted to left back. Modric thrown out on to the flank of midfield and we ran into 'one of those days' in which no one ever really got going at a time when Green, after looking for long enough, found a rare patch of good form. Shame.

Bottom 3 sides have a way of sticking the bus in front of their goal at the Lane and, as much as West Ham probably won't want to do it, this will be their best bet of walking away with anything this week. My only issue would be Daws' partner at the heart of the defence. Gallas looks crocked for a month or so and it looks as though Bass will slot in. I'm not a fan of Bassong. The boy still looks nervy at the back and at times you do wonder whether he plays with two left feet.

But anyway, let's not underestimate them. This is another chance to really stick the pressure back on to City's and Chelsea's backs as they play each other after us this weekend. A fully fit Bale with Rafa and Defoe given a chance up top would suit me. Easy.

Your thoughts?

Regards.

"He will be 31 next birthday and they will want £15million"

'Arry has conceded that a move for Scotty Parker is not a likely one. Parker has been a shining light in another dark and dismal season at West Ham and letting Scott go would surely see the East London club fall into the second tier of English football, where they belong.

"I like Parker, but he belongs to West Ham. He will be 31 next birthday and they will want £15million.
"Daniel (Levy, chairman) wouldn't buy players of that age, on big wages with no sell-on." said Redknapp with a touch of disappointment at not being able to acquire a long admired target.

A good player, but at 31, the boy's certainly knocking on a bit. 'Arry further spoke on Jamie's future at Spurs, which has seen him spend the season nursing a back injury.

"O'Hara needs to play. He would be better off playing somewhere than not playing," he added. "He would do a good job for someone in the Prem."

I like O'Hara, but would he do a good job at Tottenham? Included in the team sheet every week would be a success for Jamie considering Luka, Palacios, Tommy, Sandro and Niko are all sitting comfortably above him in the pecking order.

His future at Spurs is looking more unstable than West Ham's position in the Premier League, although Redknapp further admitted that Jamie could move to East London to gain the playing time he needs.

Should we look to keep hold of him? Or look into the possibility of a Swap deal and funds for Parker?

Regards

One player Tottenham desperately need in january

Not to long ago, I published a report stating my disapproval of 'Arry trying to bring in the former Chelsea flop. However, Scott Parker has been, dare I say, a shining light in West Ham's dark and dismal season.

The soon-to-be Championship side have in their armoury a player that I now believe would be a very good signing for Tottenham Hotspur. The player has almost everything we need. He is a player that would compliment Modric exceedingly well in light of Tommy's nasty injury. A typical box-to-box midfielder that is just as good going forward as he is defending. A player that produces more hunger and fight than a pitbull and his desire to win the ball is second to none.

The player is also West Ham's leading scorer and, minus the phenomenal scoring record of Rafa, goals from midfield have been few and far between for us this season. I do believe he is a better player than Palacios, although Wilson has looked better since coming back into the side.

I'm not suggesting he'd be a first team regular every week but he'd be a very good squad player to hold. He is a player that Tottenham need.

Regards.

Why do we need Scott Parker?

Like many of you I woke up to the news blurting out of West Ham this morning that they had ‘rejected a bid from Tottenham for midfielder Scott Parker’ according to chairman David Sullivan.

My initial reaction was that of confusion. In fact I’m still trying to get my head around this one. Why on Earth do we want Scott Parker? Is this our marquee signing for the summer and the player that will help us to push for 4th spot again this season? A player that’s a mere skid mark on the ability of Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar and with other centre midfielders Thud, Wilson, Jenas and new boy Sandro available to play in the same position.

I’m sure I’m not the only one that has begun starting to get a little anxious with the season a little under three weeks away and Redknapp not bringing in one of his ‘three players’ that he believes we need. I don’t feel Scott Parker is the right player required to bring us forward or in a position that we need filling.

What do you make of this story?

Regards.

Fan report: West ham 0-1 Spurs

I was hoping for a better performance than the one we gave against the European Champions, to be honest we didn't give the Premiership a great name for itself, and I needn't remind anyone at how poor our performance was at the home of English Football.

Both clubs set out fairly strong teams, Spurs' noticeable change was that of playing Hutton and Naughton in the same side; nice to see Harry pop up with a surprise every now and then. Bar that it was a similar team to any we're use to with Charlie and the Hudd alongside each other at the back.

The first half brought great satisfaction and it was relieving to know that we hadn't in fact turned shite overnight; we actually looked as though we wanted to win this game. We looked like the Spurs team fighting another relegation battle, but in a good way. We played with the heart on the sleeve, passed the ball around nicely and in truth made West Ham look like, well, West Ham- bloody average.

Hutton and Naughton also worked well together and showed a good understanding on the right hand side of the pitch, maybe Lennon will have to fight for his place this season; haha, that'll be the day!

Still though, the one thing we failed to do was put the ball past Green-somehow- with Pav coming closest hitting the post. I kept thinking we were playing at home, is it even allowed for Spurs to play this well away from home?

The second half saw the departure of Mr. Pavlyuchenko with pointy-shouty bloke his replacement. Keane endured a good start linking up well with Defoe, although any good performance would've been overshadowed by the stunning performance of our little Croatian playmaker.

Even through our poor performances against Celtic and Barcelona, Luka Mordric still showed great ability on the ball. I'm not gonna lie, we'd be right down there without him. The word depression would be frequently used amongst us fans for another season.

Pav had a good first half, Keane actaully looks like he's fighting harder for his place than he was at Liverpool but it was Defoe that scored the goal. Defoe's finishing had been so poor today.. but he still managed to score! Embarrassing Robert Green also adds that extra satisfaction.

We finished comfortably and 'that lot' from East London didn't look up to much. I think Bournemouth proved a tougher test in all fairness with Curbs blaming 'pre season' for every sloppy West Ham pass and shot. Let's be honest, it's just the West Ham we're all use to. Still though, a comfortable 1-0 win against a team that will be lucky to stay in the league this season, an injury for Boa Morte and a solid performance. what on Earth are we going to moan about this time?

Regards,
Ben

A worrying sign for any Tottenham fan

It seems as though old rumours die hard in this case as '5 goal a season' Welsh 'superstar' Craig Bellamy has been linked with a move to Tottenham, again. It was made fairly public that Redknapp wanted Bellamy in January but fell short of what West Ham valued the player at. Therefore, City popped in and took 'our' man for twice the price. Very shrewd Mr. Hughes.

The problem with speculation such as this is that it could quite possibly be true. Hughes' forth-coming and so far unsuccessful transfer spree could quite possibly see Bellamy's future outside of Manchester, eventually. Furthermore, the very public fact that Redknapp has admitted interest also provides a worry, let's just hope Harry has seen the light and therefore beyond that of Craig Bellamy.

Now it's obvious I'm not a fan of Craig. For me, a striker should be able to score more goals than assists each season; but maybe I'm being fussy. I understand the guy's aggression on the pitch can really lift any team he's in, but seriously, where would he fit in our starting XI? Bellamy is not the left winger we so desperately need and nor is he a capable replacement for any of our strikers. Therefore, a good signing? No.

I hope Harry sees through the aggressive nature of Bellamy and realises that the ability of the player is not fit to wear the Tottenham shirt.

Regards,
Ben

First game of the season

A West Ham fan apparently to be ITK, has blogged that their first game of the season is to be our very selves at White Hart Lane. This guy has, apparently, been correct for the last couple of seasons and has reported that we are to play them at home, first game of the new season.

Should this be true, then- as we all would- I look forward to it very much. Not only are they THE most hated team in the country, bar possibly one team up north in Manchester, but our record against them is just phenomenal. I can quite easily reminisce the last two seasons we have played them at home scoring 5 and conceding 0- and with Harry at the helm and a rare home game, it offers the potential to be a very positive start to the new season that could hopefully give us the momentum to challenge the top European places- and leave the boys from East London lingering in relegation at the same time.

I really hope that this is true, a derby game on opening day and three points to kick start our season. I may just renew my membership now..

Regards,
Ben

Manager of the season: The REAL contenders

Once again we come to May with the end of the season very much amongst us. Yet still, surprisingly, the bottom three and Premier League winner are still to be decided, and now Tottenham have safely survived the threat of being in the fizzy pop, I think it's fair to say it'll be an exciting end to it all. so we come to the end of the season and the awards that come with it; we've already seen glimpses that the FA have already engraved 'Sir Alex Ferguson' into one award, but, in the unlikely event that the manager of the season isn't fixed for this season and staying in Manchester, let's have a look at some real contenders for it.

To start, despite their poor run of late, Aston Villa's Martin O'Neill is in top contention; as, for much of the season, gluing themselves to that 4th spot ahead of familiar faces at Arsenal. O'Neill's worked wonders with a small, young and talented bunch of players and early results illustrated the fantastic man-management that he is renowned for. O'Neill's built a Villa team that are punching way above their weight- on a limited transfer budget- by making small improvements and small change every summer to the squad.

The benefits were clear in early season results, beating teams such as Arsenal at the Emirates was once personal highlight for me. O'Neill has developed and worked with young English players such as Ashley Young, who was signed for £8m a few seasons back, and mentioned that he was going to be one of England's greatest players. Ashley has quite obviously proved that this season after already picking up the PFA Young Player Of The Year award and deservedly so.
I truly believe that the lack of depth in the Villa team was the reason behind their recent slump. A young team cannot expect to defy the odds and keep hold of 4th sport for such a long period of time and I now believe that they are severely suffering a hangover much worse than a lot of us have had over the past year or so. I am sure, though, that the stamina will, in a few seasons, be present in this current Villa squad and one day will break into the top four of the Premier League. and that is why Martin O'Neill is a candidate for this award.

We move to East London for our next contender; West Ham's Gianfranco Zola. It is safe to say that when Zola took over from the manager less club, to my delight, West Ham really were in free-fall. Results went against them every week and, despite not even half the season had passed, West Ham were favourites for the drop. Zola, similarly to O'Neill came in, and, due to the financial crisis that was clear at West Ham, had no money to spend and so was left with the same squad to work with for the whole season. Zola has done a magnificent job despite injuries to key players such as top scorer Carlton Cole, Mark Noble and Dean Ashton and has managed to drag the Hammers not just from safety but within 3 points of a European place in the league.

Zola has only been at the club for 7-8 months or so but in that short period of time has clawed credibility back to East London and now their fans can start to believe in their team again. A key asset Zola has brought in was, notably, Steve Clark of Chelsea who's winning mentality and brilliant coaching skills have worked wonders with West Ham.
With injuries hitting the club, no transfer budget and the club in financial melt down, Zola has managed to turn West Ham into a force worth reckoning and look a real contender for that 7th spot and that is why West Ham's Gianfranco Zola is a contender for the award.

Our next contender may come as a shock to some, and not one that would immediately be thought of as a candidate for the award is Fulham's Roy Hodgson. Before Roy took over, Fulham's Premier League survival for the last 4 years looked uncertain and, at times, they looked down and out but jumped back at the death and grabbed survival from the claws of relegation. Roy's exceptional management of Fulham was present at the end of last season where Fulham managed to clinch 5 wins from their last 9 games to survive including one game where they came from 2-0 down to beat Man. City 3-2 at Eastlands to help them clinch survival. Roy has turned Fulham from a team that were just there to make up the numbers in the league to one that visiting teams fear.

Fulham are now in a position where one win could clinch them European football and achieve their highest ever finish in the Premier League and this is all fallen down to the man management of Roy Hodgson, he has invested a small sum over the previous transfer markets with the biggest being £10m spent on former Everton striker Andy Johnson. Hodgson has ensured that every week his players are fighting for their places and has made the club one in which players want to play for; one notable player is Brede Hangeland that looks a much more of an assured defender than he did last year and has been vital for Fulham's remarkable season.
With Fulham sitting 7th and looking hot favourites for a place in next season's Europa league, Roy has turned Fulham from relegation battlers to a safe and established Premier League side and that is why he is a contender for the award.

Our penultimate contender is in the shape of Everton's David Moyes. Now, there's a lot to say why Moyes should be in contention for this award a lot more than he is. After coming to Everton a fair few seasons back he has spent little and has only had a small squad to work with, but, each season Everton are challenging for the top 7 and more often than not achieve European football. Moyes continues to invest very little in the squad but keeps faith in the young English academy players that continue to impress in the first team. Players such as Dan Gosling have come on leaps and bounds and looking more and more comfortable playing against some of the best players in the world, the risk and faith Moyes has kept in this young English talent has clearly paid off and helping the national team out is always nice as well.

Everton are guaranteed a European spot this season, as they have been for the last few seasons, they knocked out Manchester United to reach the final of the FA Cup and Moyes has done this with a squad of tender age and with little depth in it as well. Moyes has spent little cash at every opportunity handed to him and continues to make small changes as he focuses on the building of the young team he has at his disposal. His faith in young English players is also very encouraging that we might actually have some decent players in the years to come for the national team and Everton are helping this cause. Because of this, Moyes is an obvious candidate for the award.

Our final contender comes to Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Redknapp. For much of this season, Tottenham had been fighting what looked liked a lost battle to stay in the league. The Ramos 'revolution' wasn't really meeting minimum expectations, by a long way and so Harry was drafted in to keep us in the league. Ever since, Harry has worked wonders with the club; his man management and the confidence he unleashed on the players was a breath of fresh air and ever since we have looked like a top side. Under Redknapp, Spurs have only conceded 9 goals at home all season, a current record, have only lost once at home since November and have only lost once to a side in the 'top four', a controversial loss at that as well. Spurs have also defeated the likes of Liverpool and Chealsea at the Lane and have held Arsenal on two accounts. Players such as Heurelho Gomes has come on massively after a horrid start to the season and is now one of the top keepers in the league. Players such as Modric and Ekotto are playing above expectation and looking different players to what they were at the start of the season.

When Redknapp took over, Spurs looked dead after taking just 2 points from the opening 8 games of the season. Since then, Redknapp's work with the defence have resulted in less goals being conceded and a real push for 7th spot is currently at hand. spurs are once again a real force in the league and wins against teams such as Chelsea and Liverpool at home and Man. City and Villa away mean that they can upset anyone. After saving Tottenham's season around, Harry is a contender for Manager of the season.

So there you have, it's been a long read but those are the managers that I believe should be in contention for manager of the season. I have no doubts though that the award will go to Sir Alex despite them almost bottling the league and guiding the current best team in Europe to, almost, another Premier League trophy.

Regards, Ben