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The Number One West Ham United eFanzine! Print • Mobile • Online

Julian Dicks’ exclusive column

Five quick fixes to solve our striker problem

Five managers who could replace Big Sam

Middle East blackout: Is your pub to blame?

Why we must keep hold on Noble

& much more

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WELCOME

There is an old adage that my friends always preach which isif your club has a new manager or has an attacker whohasn’t scored since 1782 then West Ham are the side youwant to play next.

Season after season, this happens to West Ham and it’shappened this season already at Crystal Palace. Pulis hadjust taken over the reins and was looking for his first winwhile Chamakh was looking for his first goal since August(not quite 1782!). We all know what happened that night.

Lampard was also on a bit of a barren run before Chelseatook on West Ham in November and look who scored twice?

Our next two games are against sides [WBA and Fulham]who have sacked their managers this month and I hope thatfor once we don’t suffer the same fate we always seem toagainst sides with a new man at the helm. Surely not?

Turning to our latest issue and we’ve got the latestexclusive column from Julian Dicks which is another fantasticread. Thomas Johnson argues the case for making sure wekeep Noble for the rest of his career while TommyDesborough suggests five strikers we should look to sign tofire us up the Premier League.

Tales from the Sandpit writer Andrew Hosie explains whyyour local boozer might be to blame for the Premier Leagueblackout in the Middle East and Joell Mayoh looks at fivepossible replacements should Sam Allardyce get the sack.

You don’t need me to tell you how important this game isbut try to enjoy it. Sing loud, sing proud and sing us to victory.

EDITOR: David BlackmoreNEWS EDITOR: Alex ShillingCONTRIBUTORS: TommyDesborough, Julian Dicks, LilyFenton, Daniel Ford, Geoff Hillyer,Tim Holland, Andrew Hosie,Marcus Johns, Thomas Johnson,Joell Mayoh, Lucy Woolford

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES:EMAIL: editor@blowing-bubbles.co.uk

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES:EMAIL: advertising@blowing-bubbles.co.uk

WHERE YOU CAN READ IT:Blowing Bubbles is available tobuy prior to each home gameand is also available to read onyour PC, Mac, Tablet or Mobile.For more information visitwww.blowing-bubbles.co.uk.

TO CONTACT BLOWINGBUBBLES:Email: editor@blowing-bubbles.co.uk

Blowing Bubbles is published by BarkingDog Media. Blowing Bubbles is acompletely independent publication. Theviews expressed within Blowing Bubblesare not necessarily those of the publishers.Opinions expressed by companies andindividuals appearing within the magazineare not that of Blowing Bubbles or thepublisher. The publisher accepts no liabilityfrom any action raised in response to anysuch opinions. Readers are stronglyadvised that although we take every careto ensure prices and content, etc, are upto date. It is the responsibility to check withthe advertiser before purchasing ortravelling to view products.No reproduction, either in part or wholeof the magazine is allowed unless writtenconsent is obtained from the publisher.The publisher accepts no responsibility forany actions arising from articles orfeatures or advertisements within thismagazine. Readers are advised to pay bycredit card when ordering goods as theseare regulated under the Consumer Act1974. Debit and charge cards are not.

(c) Blowing Bubbles David BlackmoreEditor

felt awful. I’m sure therewere plenty of fans whoasked Santa for West Hamto pick up six points fromArsenal and West Brom astheir present and I think itwould be the perfectChristmas present if we getmore than three points fromthese two games.

There have been a fewpeople asking me recentlywhat West Ham need to doto turn things around and itjust comes down to scoringgoals. It doesn’t matter howmany clean sheets you get, ifyou’re not scoring at theother end then you are

I hope you all had a verymerry Christmas and arelooking forward to welcomingin the New Year in style - let’sjust hope we will be threepoints better off by the timethe bells of Big Ben chime onTuesday evening.

I think Christmas can beruined for both players andfans if your side doesn’t get agood result on Boxing Day.

I can remember when Iwas playing, going intotraining on Christmas Dayand then playing on BoxingDay and when you won, itreally made your Christmasbut when you lost, you just

Julian Dicks

always heading for trouble.For me, the players are alsonot working hard enough andI’m not seeing enough playerschasing back to get the ballwhen we’ve lost it. Both ofthese need to changebecause when you are introuble, as West Ham arenow, you need every player torun their socks off and put ina good shift.

Everyone has bad gamesevery now and again butwhen you are having anightmare of a game, youneed to work harder andthat’s not happening at WestHam at the moment. Big

Julian is available to give your team [adults and kids] a professionalcoaching session on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis

Sam has to tackle theseissues otherwise he won’t beable to turn it around.

It is tough when you are ina rut and losing games butwe really should have beatenNorwich, Palace andSunderland. We should havetaken the game to them anddominated but we didn’t andwe ended up coming awaywith only one point fromthose three games.

For me, it comes down tous not playing with or having adecent striker who can scoregoals. We played really well atSpurs but then we stuck withthat formation and didn’t kickon. Then when Big Samplayed with a striker, we beatFulham 3-0.

I’ve also felt some of Sam’ssubstitutions have been a bitstrange lately. I knowmanagers and coaches seethings differently to people inthe stands but there havebeen players coming off whohave been doing well whileothers who are having an offday staying on.

There have also been a fewpeople ask me if I think SamAllardyce is the man to keepWest Ham up and beingcompletely honest, I wouldhave to say no.

If we had another managerand he was sacked and BigSam was coming in, I wouldhave said yes but at themoment I don’t think he can.

Things have to changequickly either with Big Sam atthe helm or not becausewithout something drastichappening, I really feel we willbe relegated.

We can’t have anotherseason like we had withAvram Grant because withthe move into the newstadium looming, we have tostay in the Premier League.But at the end of the day theonly people who know if BigSam is the right man for thejob are Gold and Sullivan.

I also think it’s not justdown to the manager butdown to the players as well.Whoever the manager picks,they have to put in a goodshift and players have to starttaking more responsibility.They are the ones on thepitch and they are the onlyones who can make thingshappen. There has been a lotof talk about Andy Carrollreturning soon but we can’tkeep waiting for him to getback. I think he is a decentplayer who does bringanother dimension to WestHam but he is not a prolificgoalscorer. He is not going toscore 10 goals in 10 games.Sure he will create chancesfor others but these are thesame players missingchances at the moment. Idon’t see where the goals aregoing to be coming from.

On other note, I’m lookingforward to our FA Cup game

against Forest. I’ve got greatmemories of playing againstthem and it is a game weshould win although we allknow what the FA Cup is like.

I just hope we go into thegame with a bit of confidenceand get a big win becausethat will really boost ourconfidence ahead of a ourgames against Cardiff andNewcastle which are bothvery winnable games.

We’ve also got Fulham onNew Year’s Day and we needto be getting maximum pointsfrom these three games inJanuary to really kick on. If itdoesn’t happen, we will be inthe bottom three before weplay Chelsea at the end of themonth.

We really don’t want to getdragged into a relegationbattle because it’s so hard topull yourself out especiallywhen the teams you’rebattling against are pickingup points against teams atthe top and we’re not.

When we’ve got everyoneback, we have got betterplayers on paper comparedto the likes of Palace and Hullbut it’s not about havingbetter players, it’s aboutgetting the most points.

You could have the bestplayers in the world but if theyare not working hard enoughand not working as a teamthen you aren’t going to winanything.

Contact Julian by emailing him on juliandicks3@icloud.com orfollowing him on Twitter @Julian3Dicks

appreciate Noble andincreasingly in the last coupleof seasons, he has become afan’s favourite.

Signing a new three yearcontract in September2012, gives the Hammers alot of leeway to reject offers,whilst the contract also hasan option for a further twoyears giving Noble thechance to become a modernday West Ham United icon.

Sticking with the clubthrough thick and thin, Nobledeserves to captain the sidein future years, hisperformances are veryconsistent and he felt the fallof relegation the hardesttaking it into his own hands.

Dragging the club up bythe scruff of its neck in the2011-12 season back to thePremier League is creditedmainly to Big Sam but if oneplayer proved vital it wasMark Noble, whoseperformances that seasonsaw Irons fans vote himHammer of the Year, after

Julian Dicks

The club’s longest servingplayer is appearing on thewanted list of some PremierLeague rivals, but to lose thecentral midfielder wouldseriously dent the Hammerscause, especially as we findourselves in a relegationbattle.

Noble may not be the mostgifted player on the pitch andhe doesn’t contribute enoughgoals, despite a brilliantrecord from the penalty spot,but the one thing the 26 yearold gives is 100 per cent.

In every tackle and everypass, Noble puts blood,sweat and tears.

There have been rumourslinking Noble with Newcastleand Everton and at thiscurrent point it would be hardto argue that those teamsaren’t an upgrade from theIrons. Everton more so thanNewcastle.

But with the OlympicStadium in the pipeline andthe captaincy to follow onceNolan moves on or starts torelinquish first team statusover the next couple ofseasons, it would be hard tosee why the home-grownHammer would jump ship.

The hardworking midfieldgeneral has always been inthe shadow of a Parker or aNolan, especially when itcomes to the pundits andpress, whilst he has beenignored by all Englandmanagers since making hisfirst team debut in claret andblue aged just 17 in 2004.

Those in the stands of theBoleyn Ground have come to

previously coming secondplace in the two years before.

Having nailed down hisspot in the starting line-up theHammer has made over 250appearances for the clubafter establishing himself inthe first team during the‘Great Escape’ season.

Netting just 31 goals andgrabbing 39 assists in hiscareer has probably beendisappointing but Noble’spriorities in the team is to cutoff the threats fromopposition sides.

Noble is the key to the clubpulling itself away from arelegation battle as hedictates play and effortlesslystrokes the ball around thepitch covering every blade ofgrass as he goes.

Mark will know the clubcan’t afford to go down andwill give everything to get theteam back up the leaguetable.

Follow me on Twitter@SoundOfVinyl

Thomas Johnson

Noble is vitalto our fightfor survival

It is a well-known problemthat West Ham are lackinggoals this season.

We are definitely missingthe services of big AndyCarroll but our lack of abilityto sign a second qualitystriker has cost us dearlythis season.

So, here I propose fivequick fixes to our strikerproblem when the windowre-opens in January,whether Carroll is fit or not.

Jermain Defoe: This firstoption is quite an obviousone. He has been linked withWest Ham quite a lot in thepast month or so. Defoe,who left the Hammer onsour terms, is a transferthat many fans would notlike to see. However how

could you turn him down at atime like this? Especially ashe does exactly what weneed, scores goals. He hasalso been labelled the bestsubstitute in the PremierLeague, now that’s not a badlabel to have. I think thatDefoe would welcome areturn to West Ham,especially with a World Cupcoming up, meaning he wouldlike to have regular playingtime to prove he is worth aplace on the plane to Rio.

Demba Ba: This is a playerI was surprised didn’t comeback to us in the summer.This is because he was alsogoing to be behind Torres inthe pecking order at Chelsea,as he still tries to justify his£50 million price tag. Withthe transfer of Eto’o this was

only going to push him downfurther. I think that Ba wouldactually come back to theclub that welcomed him toEnglish football, mainly forthe lure of regular football.However I hope he may feelas if he owes us, after hewas part of the side that gotrelegated a few seasonsback. Anyway, he would be awelcome addition and is stillonly young, and he definitelyknows where the goal is.

Miroslav Klose: Perhaps aname that has not beenmentioned regularly butnevertheless he would be aquality addition. Although heis 35 years old, he scored16 goals in 29 games lastseason for Lazio, which is notbad. His contract is up in

Tommy Desborough

Five quickfixes to ourstrikerproblem

June, so it could be that a cutprice deal could be struck inJanuary. Especially with Kloseclaiming he would like toleave Lazio, and Germannewspaper Bild stating “CiaoItalia! Klose wants to go toEngland”. Klose is also strongin the air so would fit into theside. Again with a place onthe plane to Rio at stake,Klose may feel he wants toprove he can still play at thetop level.

Diego Milito: Another‘golden oldie’ if you like. Thesame really goes with Milito,his contract is also up in thesummer and would like to

earn a place in the Argentinaside for the World Cup. Thestriker is 34 years old now,but would still do a job infront of goal. He has a wealthof experience and couldprove to be a useful player toour current side, he must bebetter than Maiga. It is alsobelieved that Inter Milan arewilling to let the striker go fora reduced fee, instead ofletting him go in the summerfor free.

Andre-Pierre Gignac:Gignac is another player thathas barely been mentionedas a target for West Ham.However I believe he would

be a very good signing for us,even if it is likely to be on aloan deal. Playing in Ligue 1for Marseille and still only 27years old, Gignac has beencapped 17 times by hisnational team of France. Heis strong in the air and isalso technically adept, hewould slot straight into ourcurrent team, and could alsochallenge for a placealongside Andy Carroll.

Follow me on Twitter@MooreThanAClub

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Open letters are all the rageat the moment If it’s goodenough for Sinead O’Connorand Miley Cyrus then wemight as well all be writing toeach other via open media.

I’ve always wanted to writea letter to our dear friendCarlton Cole but afterconsidering the open letterroute, I’ve decided against it.

It would be a completelypointless letter, because ifCarlton ever got hold of it,he’d scratch his head andjust be thinking “what wasthat all about?”.

One minute it would be anopen love letter and the nextit would be a writtenwarning. Love him or hatehim, Carlton Cole is

undoubtedly one of thenicest men in football.

His television interviewsportray him as a gentle,humorous character, whilsthis off-field persona cementshis reputation as an allround good egg.

So is this what enchantsus to have such a love/haterelationship with our striker?

His most recent recordedinterview ahead of the fixtureagainst Fulham was ashonest and humble as youcan hope for in football.

He spoke of his optionsafter leaving Upton Park butrevealed what we all knew,that he only had eyes for oneclub. He was also verygracious about being left on

the bench since his return.Although obviously eager toget on and play football, henoted that his head neededto be down in order toimpress and not complain.

Before his departure atthe end of the 12/13season, Cole had made 210league appearances for theHammers.

To put that intoperspective, Mark Noble as aHammer throughout hiscareer has notched up 224at the time of writing.

So really, Cole is as muchpart of the club as the manwho has dedicated his wholecareer to the team.

It goes without saying thatif you spend so much time

Lucy Woolford

Always believe inyour soul

watching someone, you’regoing to grow fond of them,especially someone with theheart of Carlton.

It seems to work bothways - Carlton just can’t helpbut be captivated by the cluband the fans, which left himwanting more once hiscontract ended in summer2013. Now, he’s back until atleast January 2014, andafter returning to the scoresheet against Fulham, he’son his way to proving why heshould keep his place in thesquad for another term. Buthe’ll have to improve on hiswoeful two goals from lastseason.

I understand that he wasplayed in a system in whichhe struggled, but for me,there were more goals inhim despite his discomfort inplaying alone or, onoccasions, alongside AndyCarroll. I guess when you putthe two together the bigtarget man is going toeclipse the slightly clumsy,misfiring man.

To throw a few stats intothe mix, Cole had a goal togame success rate of 7 percent last season.

Across his entire WestHam career in the leagues,his return is a better at 22per cent. Andy Carroll’ssuccess since linking up withthe Hammers? 29 per cent.But what about thefrustrations that come with

Cole? There’s enough ofthem.

I’ve had countlessconversations with otherWest Ham fans who justcannot comprehend how hemakes such schoolboyerrors in what is widelyknown as the best league inthe world.

There are chances thatCarlton really should putaway with ease, but he hasthis way of going aboutthings that just makes it looklike the most awkward thingin the world. And thenthere’s his occasionalinability to run or jump oreven see it seems.

When rumours surfacedof his imminent departurelast year, I wrote an articledeclaring my love for him, butI felt it was really time for himto go. He’d had his day andprobably had nothing moreto offer. In fact, at times, I felthis inclusion in the teamrather hindered rather thanhelped.

Take the play-off final in2012 for example. The fansare having a great time atWembley, Cole had gone tothe trouble of putting us 1-0up despite us probably beingon the back foot for most ofthe first half. Then whathappens? Carlton Cole allbut gifts Blackpool anequaliser. His mistake to givethe ball away cost us dearlyat the time.

That is something thatover time I have started toforgive, but only because VazTe did us a favour and sealedpromotion in the dyingminutes. I don’t think I willever forget the anger I feltfor Carlton when he did that.Up in the heavens ofWembley we were raging.

Despite Cole’s downfalls, Idon’t ever like to see our ownplayer being booed off, whichis something that he hasbeen unfortunately subjectedto in his time in claret andblue. That is unacceptable. Ihope that will never happenagain to him, because asclueless as he sometimes is,he gives 100 per cent to thisclub and I think he always will.We can’t ask more than thatreally.

Singing “always believe inyour soul…” to him started offas a bit of a joke, but I’ll neverforget seeing his eyes lightup when we first startedsinging it to him. Heappreciates hearing hisname sung by the fans heloves, and most of the timewe love him back. I’d hate forCole to leave in January notknowing that we appreciateeverything; the goals, the paycut, the effort.

He might be a dodgyPremier League striker...buthe’s our dodgy PremierLeague striker.

Follow me on Twitter@lucy_whufc

It appears the EnglishPremier League are not at allpleased with the odd local inthe UK screening someSaturday 3pm kick offs dueto a dispute with Al JazeeraSports regarding, it wouldseem, illegal broadcasting ofmatches in the UK licensedfor broadcast in the MiddleEast and North Africa only.Unfair to the lower leagues,you see.

Show a football matchfrom the top flight andfootball fans across the UKwill, apparently, abandonsupporting their local teamwhich their family’s probablysupported for a number ofgenerations in order towatch Norwich and Cardiffplay out a 0-0 in the comfortof their local boozer or at

home with their illicit AlJazeera Smart Card.

It’s an interestingargument and whilst Ivaguely understand the EPL’smotherly nurturing instinctsto its lower league cousins, Ido wonder whether theiractions in pulling the plug onAl Jazeera’s ability to showall 380 matches live in theMiddle East and North Africais causing far greaterdamage to their reputation inthis part of the world thanthe complaints of ‘randomlower league side’ who mayor may not have lost a fan ortwo at their last home matchbecause the Red Lion downthe road was showing Stokev Fulham. How could it beproven that was the reasonfor the lower attendance?

Surely there’s a wholemelting pot of differentvariables from one week tothe next that could influenceattendance figures at a lowerleague ground.

Like the team beingrubbish, for example.

Also, it could be argued,the EPL is showing a greatdeal of arrogance insuggesting a fan would turnhis back on his beloved teamin a nano-second in order toview a match from thehighest tier in English football.

In fact I’d suggest it’s quitepossible that it’s indeed theother way round - a lot ofpeople returning to the lowerleagues to nourish their loveof football disgusted by theway Premier clubs, as theysee it, abuse their fans asnothing more than cash-cows.

So that’s why the localboozer is only partly to blamethat I haven’t been able towatch West Ham so muchover the last few weeks and aminiscule part at that.

Why is this important?Well let me put it in to somesort of context.

Since I arrived on theseshores 10 years ago I havealways enjoyed the ability towatch the Premier League.

Be that in a pub on aSaturday evening with friendsor at home if I chose tosubscribe to the packages onoffer. Over these 10 yearsthe rights have changedhands amongst variousbroadcasters, some offering

Tales from the Sandpit

Is your boozer toblame for MiddleEast blackout?

would argue that sticking onany EPL match at that timewould help boost custom tosome degree, so does thateradicate the problem theEPL is keen to fix? Not really.

What it does do however,is continue to punish thefootball fan in the MiddleEast.

It also punishes bars herewho gear a lot of theirmarketing, their budgets andtheir energy to promotingtheir venue on a Saturdaynight.

Many alcohol brandsdesign special offers, two forone deals and the like,competitions to win trips tomatches in the EPL to enticepeople in to bars on aSaturday evening.

Remember, in this part ofthe world Saturday evening isa school night – theequivalent of sitting in yourlocal on a Sunday eveningwishing it was the start of theweekend and not the end sogetting people out and aboutis more of a challenge thancatering for a normalSaturday night crowd.

Footie fans who’ve paiddouble last year to keepwatching their beloved clubsare up in arms.

The fact the matches werepulled one Saturday a fewweeks ago just added to theirire. Will they resume theirmonthly payments when andif this dispute gets sortedout?

At the moment it’s quitefrankly a mess and needs tobe sorted quickly.

it as an included package inmonthly subscriptions, andsome offering it as anadditional charge per month.

This year, after much delay,Al Jazeera won the rights butwe were charged the highestsubscription rates if wewanted to watch at home,double the cost compared tolast season’s rights holder’scharges.

Weighing up the pros andcons, though, with AJ alsocarrying the ChampionsLeague, Europa League, FACup, English Championship,Spanish, French and ItalianLeagues and thinking aheadto the World Cup nextsummer, it was worthgetting.

And for the first few weeksof the season things weregreat.

All matches were beamedin to my home in HD,coverage was far better thanprevious offerings andeveryone was happy.

Including, it seems, in theUK too as it transpired AlJazeera has allegedly failed toincorporate proper securitymeasures to ensure theirsmartcards could only workin licensed regions and manywere finding their way to theUK - thus the problem ofillegal broadcasts.

The plug was then pulledon AJ showing all but one ofthe Saturday 3pm kick offs.

All but one? Surely allowingone match to be shown atthat time means that pubs inUK still have access to showan illegal match? Some

Al Jazeera has not doneitself proud with its PRhandling of the issue –silence generally. The EPLcomes out of this badly as itseems their desire to bring‘the best league in the world’to as much of the world aspossible goes out of thewindow when it comes toSaturday afternoons.

It is, of course, the fan thatloses out and although thecontinued wrangle might betemporary what price canyou put on the potentialdamage that’s been created?

With so many otheroptions available to us bothlocally out and about and atthe touch of a button athome will the appetite for theEPL still be as high whennormal service hasresumed?

The big question is whatprice can you put ondamaged reputation, will barsbe quick to sign on for nextseason? Will the pubic behappy to fork our for asubscription at home?

Maybe the EPL thinks it’snot such a big deal that a fewof us miss out on a fewmatches in order for them tomake their point but they’replaying a game that’sangering the football fan themost.

For me, I’ve taken the silverlining approach to the issue,if I can’t watch us play I can’tget so depressed about howbadly we’ve played!

Follow me on Twitter@hosiemon

If there is one thing thatrecent performances haveshown us, it is that our squadis in desperate need ofstrengthening.

While I think it’s fair to saythat we have a fairly strongfirst starting eleven – on therare occasion that they’re allfit at the same time – it hasbecome apparent thatbeyond the obvious startingline up, there is a seriousimbalance in the squad.

Sure, £20 million wasspent on Carroll andDowning, but Financial FairPlay does seem to besomething of a convenientexcuse.

So splashing the cash isclearly out of the question butso too would not adding moreplayers. As such, we must belooking at loans. The utterlypointless knee jerk contractoffered to Petric will surelynot be extended, and nor is it

likely that Carlton Cole will stillbe here by the end of themonth. So that will free upsome funds, but thechairmen will still need to digdeep.

But where should we lookto strengthen first? Theobvious answer is up front,but it’s also apparent that welack a general creativitywithout Downing and aweakness at the back whenReid is unavailable. So whoshould we be looking totarget?

Centre Forwards: It’sclear that our current cropjust aren’t up to the job.Cole’s return was nothingmore than sentiment andPetric was a complete wasteof time. Whilst Maiga clearlypossesses some abilities,goal scoring is sadly not oneof them. Without Carroll, we

have been ridiculouslytoothless.

A lot will depend onwhether Sam looks to stickrigidly to his preference toplaying a big man up front orif he’s prepared to flex a little,and look more at an ability toscore goals than to provide atarget.

Much will equally dependon other clubs transferbusiness. Should eitherChelsea or Tottenham makeadditions to their forwardlines, loans are a distinctpossibility for their existingplayers.

While Jermain Defoe wouldbe an ideal option, albeitcontroversially, it seems he isdisappointingly heading to theMLS with Toronto.

His team mate EmmanuelAdebayor would offer us agenuine threat and an abilityto play as a figurehead andwhile he has spent much time

Marcus Johns

As Januarywindow opens,let’s hope nodoors close

in when Carroll returns, andDiarra a strong andexperienced option when fitagain.

Jack Collison is probablyour best ball playingmidfielder, but questionmarks around his futuremust surely arise given hisperceived lack of long-termfitness, and Allardyce’swillingness to send him outon loan.

Out wide, Downing hasproven to be the mostcreative player we currentlyhave, and his absence will besorely missed, all the more sogiven Jarvis and Joe Colebeing inconsistent bit partperformers so far.

If we are to get morechances into Carroll, we mustlook at another wide optionand few are better on theirday that Wilfred Zaha.

Currently overlooked byDavid Moyes and clearly outof favour at ManchesterUnited, he will clearly feel hehas a point to prove to thosewho doubt he is cut out forthe Premier League.

What better platform for awinger than to team up witha side that base their play ongetting balls into the box?

Questions will be raisedover the disagreement forEngland Under 21s betweenZaha and Morrison but I don’tsee this being a major issue.

Defence: The greatestdefensive achievement wecan accomplish in Januarywould be to keep WinstonReid from the clutches ofArsenal.

on the sidelines at both Spursand Man City, it cannot beignored that he made anexcellent initial impression atthose clubs.

A loan signing for him is amuch stronger possibilitythan the likes of Demba Ba,who would undoubtedly bewelcomed back with openarms, but looks to have hisheart set on a move abroad.Man City’s John Guidetti looksa raw young talent who didwell in the Dutch Leagues, buthas found his path to the firstteam blocked, though there isa huge difference betweenthe Dutch League and thePremier League.

A look into theChampionship would bringabout approving glances atthe likes of Jordan Rhodes,Danny Ings or Sam Vokes –but all are unproven at ahigher level, and we currentlyneed someone to hit theground running.

Not only that but a youngstriker with great potential isunlikely to be available on thecheap. It will certainly farmore than we are likely to beable to sell Maiga back toFrance for so while a summermove for one of these playerswould be more likely, in theinterim, I suspect Adebayor isthe best option.

Midfield: Not much weneed to do here. At thecentre of our midfield, we lookfairly strong.

Diame, Noble and Morrisonare the current fans’ choicesin the centre, with a strongcase for Nolan to come back

Back up is clearly the keynecessity, as question markshave been raised over thelikes of Collins and O’Brien.Even Tomkins has at timeslooked as though hestruggles with the pace.

With the sole intention ofsurvival, we should be lookingto reinforce our defence.

The benefit of a World Cupat the end of the season,along with a promise of firstteam football could be adeciding factor.

Jolean Lescott has seenless playing time than eitherhe or Hodgson would havewanted, with Man City attimes preferring to playmidfielders back in defencethan Lescott.

Game time would certainlydo him good before thesummer and he would befirst choice alongside Reid ifhe signed.

In a similar position wouldbe QPR’s Julio Ceasar. Hisposition as Brazil’s firstchoice will be questionedwithout regular game time atthe top level.

Whilst Jussi hasperformed well at times, he isclearly past his best.

So what do you think? Whowould you like us to sign inJanuary? Where do we needto concentrate our efforts?Let me know what you think.

Follow me on Twitter@Johnsie31

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Welcome to 2014. Well,nearly. It’s West Ham’s lasthome match of the year, andon the surface, a prettywinnable one against WestBrom. We hope.

There’s no doubting thatit’s been a pretty toughsecond year back in thePremier League so far – as Iwrite this, we are hoveringaround the relegation zonealthough by the time you readthis, who knows? We mighthave propelled ourselves upthe table.

So what does 2014 holdfor us? Well, there’s definitelysome matches which wecould take some points from,that’s for sure.

Beating West Brom andtaking some confidence intothe New Year would be a

good start – especially as westart with an away match onNew Year’s Day againstFulham, themselves reallystruggling. They’ve recentlydispensed with Martin Jol’sservices, of course, aftertheir 3-0 loss to us at the endof November, so there mightbe an element of payback intheir minds, and we will needto be prepared for this.

We look far less solid atthe back since WinstonReid’s injury, and it has beenhoped that he’ll be back forthe New Year. His return is,in truth, probably still a whileaway, but even so, Fulhamare not that great shakesand a win definitely isn’t out ofthe question. It’s one of those“sit tight and don’t concede”games and so no doubt Big

Sam will take that approach.After Fulham, it’s a tricky-looking tie away toNottingham Forest in the FACup. They’ve been doing wellin the Championship this year,so this does have a potentialupset look about it.

Of course, we’re more thancapable of winning the game,but we have to be preparedto play the game at about amillion miles per hour. It islikely to be pretty full-bloodied.Personally, I’d be happy tobring them back to theBoleyn, given some of ourrecent results away fromhome.

Cardiff City await us onJanuary 11 in another awaymatch. We beat this lot 2-0 inthe opening game of theseason, and they are not faraway from us in the table.

Not losing this game ispretty key – and we haveplenty of fond memories ofthis place, having won 2-0 inthe first leg of theChampionship play-off in theseason we went up.

With matches againstNewcastle United, who’vebeen very strong recently,and Chelsea to come, it’s vitalthat we pick up some pointsin these games.

If we can’t win these sortsof matches, the players haveto take a long hard look atthemselves, if we want to stayin this division next year.

Enjoy the game – andhappy New Year!

Follow me on Twitter@geoffhillyer

Geoff Hillyer

My New Year Resolutions

The end is nigh for SamAllardyce. West Ham’sabysmal season can beblamed only on the club’smanager, so now a change isrequired. So I’ve taken an in-depth look at some realisticcandidates to fill Big Sam’sshoes at Upton Park.

Marcelo Bielsa: Althoughhe remains largely unknownon in England, Marcelo Bielsais highly regarded as atactical visionary in Europeand South America. Notconvinced? Just ask PepGuardiola. The BayernMunich gaffer andBarcelona’s most successfulmanager of all time made apilgrimage to Argentinaseeking advice from Bielsawhen deciding if he should gointo coaching back in October2006. Bielsa, affectionatelynicknamed El Loco, hasmanaged his own nationalteam as well as Chile’s. He iscredited with laying thefoundations for the attackingstyle of play that enabledChile to pick apart Englandwhen they won 2-0 atWembley last month. At clublevel, Bielsa briefly managedEspanyol before beinghanded the Argentina job in1998 and most recentlyoversaw the renaissance atAthletic Bilbao. But Bielsawas let go by Los Leones inthe summer despite leadingthem to both the Europa

League and Copa Del Reyfinals last season. ThePremier League could dowith the arrival of acharacter like Bielsa – he isnicknamed El Loco for areason. Not only is he knownfor possessing an insanelyexhaustive collection offootball video clips that heuses for coaching, he evenattacked a builder last yearbecause he thought he hadnot done a good job atBilbao’s training ground,before handing himself intothe police. Furthermore,having endured Big Sam’sdepressed, hangdogexpression for so long, WestHam need someone who willbrighten up the place too.

From a footballing point ofview, Bielsa would be perfectfor the Hammers. He isknown for putting faith inyouthful talent and mixingthem with experienced pros,all of whom he has playingattractive attacking football.Is that not the ‘West Hamway’ everyone keeps ravingabout?

Slaven Bilic: As a formerHammer, Bilic knows all toowell how West Ham aresupposed to play and wouldsurely pass that onto thesquad if he were mademanager. And, given how heconducted himself on thepitch, you can also guaranteethat every player would be

Joell Mayoh

WhocouldreplaceBig Sam?

made to give his all for thecause too. Signed by HarryRedknapp for £1.3m inJanuary 1996, Bilic’simpressive displays for cluband country soon attractedinterest from other clubs.When Everton offered a clubrecord fee of £4.5m inMarch 1997, the Hammersaccepted. What happenednext divides opinion amongWest Ham fans. Someconsider Bilic’s decision tosee out the full 1996/1997season in East London beforetransferring to Everton to bean act of heroic loyalty nolonger apparent in the game.Despite agreeing a move tothe Merseysiders with twomonths to go until the end ofthe campaign, the defenderstayed on at Upton Parkapparently so that he couldmake sure West Hamavoided relegation from thePremier League. The otherside to this story says thatBilic stayed for money andthen left for even more.Rumours suggest Bilicreceived a £200k loyaltybonus for staying at WestHam and then left to be paid£30k per week at Everton.Either way, the Croat wasexcellent for the Hammers.He has made it perfectlyclear to the media on severaloccasions that he wants tomanage West Ham at somepoint as well. Bilic would be avery popular choice for mostof the fans. But, sadly for the

claret and blue army, the 45-year-old signed a three-yeardeal reported to be worthover £4m with Turkish sideBesiktas in June this year. Assuch, getting hold of Bilic bybuying him out of his contractwould come at a huge cost tothe Hammers.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer:With less than three years’experience as a manager of aprofessional team, OleGunnar Solskjaer has been arevelation in Norway at hishome town club Molde. Insuch a short space of time,the former ManchesterUnited goalscorer has led hisside to two NorwegianPremier League triumphs in2011 and 2012 as well aslifting the Norwegian Cup thisyear. He has been praised forthe brand of football his sidehas played throughout too. Itis no surprise, then, thatSolskjaer is well sought after.Norway offered Solskjaer thenational team post in 2008but he did not think the timewas right for such a big job.Aston Villa then tried theirbest to capture the 40-year-old when they sacked AlexMcLeish in 2012. Solskjaeragain rejected the vacancy,this time deciding to stay withMolde because he did notwant to unsettle his family inhis homeland. Now Norway’sand Villa’s loss could be WestHam’s gain. The only realargument against going for

Solskjaer as a replacementfor Allardyce is whether ornot his experience ofNorwegian football wouldtranslate to the hugedemands of the PremierLeague. But the formerNorway international will havean in-depth knowledge ofEnglish football and all itrequires having spent 11years as a ManchesterUnited player and then twoand a half years as theirreserve team manager.Obviously, were West Ham tosack Big Sam and set theirsights on the Baby-facedAssassin, finding a solution toappease Solskjaer’sreservations about movingback to England while hisfamily are happy in Norwaymay prove to be a stumblingblock. However, time haspassed since Solskjaerrejected a move toBirmingham and he and hisfamily may now be moreinclined to returning to theseshores. The Hammers need adrastic change with much ofthe season already elapsed.Who better to bring in thanthe Premier League’s mostfamous super-sub?

Glenn Hoddle: Planting aTottenham Hotspur andChelsea legend in theHammers hot seat is boundto ruffle a few feathersamong the West Hamfaithful, but the vast majoritystill see the former England

manager as a good choice.Like Bielsa, Hoddle is knownfor being a believer in thebeautiful game. But, also likeBielsa, Hoddle has areputation for being a bitzany. Few fans will ever forgetHoddle’s non-football relatedbeliefs that led to the bizarrecomments he made.Nevertheless, the man knowshis football. Althoughcurrently employed by the FAas a member of thecommission looking at waysto improve the national game,Hoddle is available tomanage. The bookies areeven suggesting that he willbe the go-to guy now Spurshave lost patience with AndreVillas-Boas, but maybe WestHam should consider nippingin before their North Londonrivals get chance.

Roberto Di Matteo:Roberto Di Matteo would bethe best replacement forAllardyce West Ham couldpossibly hope to employ. Justtactically speaking, the Italianwould suit the task as if hewere crafted for it by a SavileRow tailor. He proved duringhis time as West BromwichAlbion manager that he is yetanother person for whomattractive football is of greatimportance (surely you’venoticed this pattern by now).Furthermore, while he was incharge at Chelsea, Di Matteoalso showed that he is astuteenough to have his side play

to their strengths. Themanner in which the Blueswon the 2012 ChampionsLeague while beingunderdogs throughout thecompetition was a tacticalmaster class. The directcounter-attacking playdeployed by the gaffer wasastoundingly effective andwould be just what WestHam need as they make thetransition from the Big Samdays back to the West Hamway. Similar to Glenn Hoddle,the prospect of employingthis Chelsea legend is boundto annoy some Hammersfans. But we all came toaccept Gianfranco Zola whenhe was West Ham managerbecause he had the teamplaying the best football seenat the Boleyn for the last 20years. While Gianfranco Zolawas deemed as too flaky to

lead West Ham further byDavid Gold and David Sullivan,Di Matteo has much moreexperience of managing atthe top level and should,therefore, be robust enoughfor the job. Whether WestHam could convince aChampions League-winninggaffer to take over and steerthe club away from relegationwould be interesting to see.Money talks though. And,being as though the ownershave previously pulled out allstops to fund Big Sam’s big-money signings, most ofwhom have flopped, surelyGold and Sullivan haveenough money left in theircoffers to throw at a decentmanager too?

Follow me on Twitter@JoellBloggs

How do you assess WestBrom’s season so far?

It’s been an up and downseason so far. We struggledfor consistency and we’ve notwon enough. Three losses ina row have really hurt usespecially after a good winagainst Man United earlier inthe season.

After last season, do youthink Steve Clarke had a lotto live up to?

I think there’s always goingto be a bit of hangover fromthe success of last season.Added to that is the fact thatwe lost arguably our best

player when Lukaku wentback to Chelsea. He wasalways going to be difficult toreplace and in fairness I don’tthink we have.

Last season you mentionedthat European footballmight be on the cards?What are your expectationsfor this season?

I think mid-table securityand a decent FA cup runwould be good enough forme. Anything else would be abonus.

Saido Berahino hassurprised everyone thisseason. How good is he and

do you think you’ll be able tokeep hold of him?

I honestly think he’s one ofthe best young players we’veever had at the club. Theproblem is how we keep himat the club. The league islittered with Rodwell’s andSinclair’s – players whomoved big too young. I thinkwe keep him by playing himsimple as that.

How have you rated yoursummer signings?

I was pleased with all thesignings on paper. Anelka is aquality striker, Sessegnonimproves the team, Anichebe

Opposition View: West Bromwich Albion

Tim Holland speaksto Roger Francis,lifelong WestBromwich Albion fanabout not replacingLukaku, keeping holdof Berahino and theteam Christmasparty

is expensive but againtalented, Vydra is young andis highly rated. Unfortunatelyit hasn’t quite worked out sofar for them. Perhaps wesigned too many players inthe summer? Perhaps therewas too much upheaval, Idon’t know.

After the loss to Norwichthe team went on theirChristmas party to Dublin tomuch uproar. Where does itsit with you?

I think the press made a lotout of it and Steve Clarke hasrightly defended it. In ourcurrent run of form I’m notsure the harm it will cause!

Do you think you’ll be busy inthe January transferwindow?

I’ve got a feeling that wewon’t sign anyone in the hopewe’ll avoid a relegation scrapso there’s no need. I supposewe did spend over £12m inthe summer and I’m guessingAnelka’s wages has prettyhigh.

What’s been your opinion ofWest Ham this season?

I’ve not seen much of youto be fair but from yourleague position it looks asthough you’re struggling like

us. What a difference aseason makes.

Which West Ham playerswould you have in yoursquad?

Ravel Morrison has beenyour Berahino so probablyhim. Maybe Andy Carroll if heever gets fit.

Who should West Ham fansbe wary of in the West

Brom first XI when theclub’s meet?

Berahino has been arevelation plus Shane Longhas played well so far.

What’s your prediction forthe match and for bothclubs this season?

2-1 to us for the matchand 15th for WBA, 16th foryou lot.

Matt Jarvis was a big signingfor us last summer but thisseason he’s been up anddown and kind of nowhere.

With the signing ofDowning and Joe Cole playingwell, Jarvis hasn’t even beenin the starting line-up thatmuch. We signed him lastyear from Wolves with somuch promise of beingamazing and now a lot ofgames he’s not starting.

Even when he has played,he’s not been fantastic andyes it is very hard for ourwingers at the moment butfor someone we paid somuch for we expect betterfrom him. He had a very goodsuccess rate at crosses lastseason but now he’s not.

There is, however, nodoubt that he is a greatplayer. He has got a couple ofassists this season and in

one of our pre-season game,I think he got three assistsand that’s what we need sodesperate for at themoment.

He is now facing quite a bitof competition for a placefrom Downing and Cole. Weneeded a striker and gotDowning which some fansweren’t happy about but I cansee where Big Sam wascoming from. No-oneexpected Carroll to be outnearly as long as this and forall the hard work Downing isputting in and the goodgames he’s had, I think Andywould have definitely scoreda fair few of the chances he’screated.

Joey Cole when he’s fitalways has a goal in him andis a very creative player thatthe team love. I think heneeds to start more games

though. So we have threevery good wingers and nostriker but things are difficultat the moment and all threeof them need to provethemselves.

Based on performances atthe moment when AndyCarroll is back, I think I’d startDowning and Cole.

No fan is enjoying losingmainly because its sillymistakes like Demel’s againstChelsea and Jussi’s atNorwich that are getting usunstuck but the fans have tobe behind the players,negativity won’t help.

Follow me on Twitter@lily_fenton

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Lily Fenton

Competition on the flanks

I once likened supportingWest Ham to the notion ofhaving a girlfriend whorepeatedly cheats on you.

You love them dearly, andwith all your heart. Butdespite the fact they treatyou like dirt – repeatedly andwithout consideration for you– you just cannot force themout of your life.

Sure, you want to hatethem, you might even believethat you do, but at the end ofthe day, you know you’ll stilllove them, faults and all. Afterall – who else is there?

So why do we putourselves through it? Andhow did we find ourselves inthis situation?

Well, I’d imagine for mostof you, locality is the reason.With a catchment area

covering the whole of east ofLondon and into Essex, myWest Country drawl seemsto stick out like a sore thumb,especially when it addsseveral additional r’s to“Come on You Irons”

So how did I come to be aWest Ham fan?

Usually, I’d be a strongadvocate of supporting yourlocal team but I’m born andbred in Gloucester – a littleRugby loving outpost in thearse end of the South West.

As a kid, Gloucester Cityand Cheltenham Town werethe epitome of non leaguemediocrity – the latter sinceprogressing to lower leaguemediocrity, the former prettymuch as they ever were.

So what else was local tome? Bristol City/Rovers to

the south, or some seriousstraw clutching with AstonVilla to the North.

Alas, it was to be adifferent set of claret andblue shirts for me.

With no team in therealistic locality, I decidedupon the only otheracceptable choice ofsupporting a team – Ifollowed in my fathersfootsteps.

A decision that 6 year oldme made without being ableto fathom the impact it wouldhave!

A year later, after seeingmy Liverpool supportingfriends celebrate title aftertitle, while West Hamlanguished in 2nd divisionmediocrity, I asked my dadwhy we were West Ham fans.

Marcus Johns

More Hammersembarrassment

Why do we support West Ham?

clear. We are not just afootball club. We are a way oflife. We know we are not agreat team. A history in whichthree FA Cups, a CupWinners Cup and half aCharity shield are the onlysilverware to adorn ourcupboards were all wonbefore my lifetime, none of usare here for the success –the 1999 Intertoto Cup asideof course!

But when we hit theheights, boy do we know howto enjoy them. From thegenius of Di Canio to theferocious competitiveness ofJulian Dicks.

When the lows arrive, wealso treat them with humourand self-deprecation that noother team can fathom. Atwhich other club wouldTomas Repka have become acult favourite!?

Not only that, but imaginefor one scary, horrific, spine-chilling moment that myGrandfather had correctlyidentified Bobby Charlton as aMan United player, and I’dgrown up supporting them.

I’d have become arrogant.I’d have assumed successwas easy to come by, andsulk when it wasn’t.

I’d never know that otherteams were allowed to beawarded penalties, and aboveall – I’d never know what itfeels like to beat Man United.Look at them now – they’re ina crisis.

Have you noticed thatwhen we go to places like OldTrafford, Stamford Bridgeand The Emirates – we’re theonly ones making noise?

Surely I’d put my blind faith infollowing him for a reason.

Up until then, I’d assumed itwas because we were thebest side in the world. Thatmust be why all of our familysupported West Ham. Right?Wrong!

The reason my dad took upthe mantra of West Hamshould have given me someinsight into the future chaosand cock ups that lay in storefor me.

As a young child himself,my old man sat and watchedthe 1966 World Cup finalwith his own father – a Welshboxing enthusiast who by hisown admission hadn’t thefirst clue about football.

Impressed by the goalscoring feats of BobbyCharlton, he asked mygrandfather who he playedfor. Confused between thegoalscorer and the captain,he informed his son it wasWest Ham, thinking he meantour Bobby.

So, thanks to a confusedWelshman who’d clearlyreceived too many hits to thehead, a dynasty of West Hamsupporters were born.

There is though, somethingof a mystique about WestHam. Something strangelyalluring. It’s not the team, orthe management – certainlynot the success – yet theclub as a whole just has alure to them.

My father, 57 now, textsme bemoaning the team afterevery defeat telling me hesupports the fans as much asthe team. And there, in anutshell, does it become

It’s because their fans sitthere, expecting to win, andexpecting to be entertained.

Can you ever imagine themstarting a chant of “Let’spretend we scored a goal”?

The gallows of humour thattranspires from the fans is apart of what makes UptonPark such a fantastic place towatch football.

We appreciate who weare, where we are and whowe’re up against. Throughoutall the disappointment and letdowns, we continue to showour support – never more sothan this season.

Sure, things are bad – butthey’ve been worse. Thecurrent manager willeventually leave, as will thecurrent crop of players. Butthe club will remain, and sowill we. As I now turn 30, andthe wife informs me familyplanning is around thecorner, it makes me think ofthe West Ham legacy, andwhat I would want to happenshould I ever have a son.

Will I acknowledge thealmost permanentdisappointment supportingWest Ham brings, and allowhim to follow his friends into asheep like support of a topfour side?

Nope. If nothing else – it’scharacter building.

Follow me on Twitter@Johnsie31

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As a fan from the UnitedStates who did not grow upas a soccer fan this is aquestion I struggle withregularly, not because I donot know the answer butbecause it is hard toarticulate to my fellowAmerican fans.

Even the vocabulary istough for me, because I findmyself referring to the gameas football only to haveconfused looks cast my way.

Almost all of the fans Iknow here who follow thelikes of either Arsenal,Chelsea, or ManchesterUnited.

It is infuriating to talk tothese people who alwaysrespond with something

between bewilderment andcontempt when they find outI follow West Ham United.

I try to explain to themthat the history is meaningfuland the tradition of the clubmatters to me and getlooked at like my face hassprouted extra ears or eyes.

They say things like “whowill you root for once theyget relegated?”

They also laugh and say“you must not like winning.” Itis, quite simply, infuriating.

Now, I am a live and let livesort of person and Iunderstand the sensibilitiesof these people.

They want to follow a teamthey think is goingsomewhere and one that

gets a lot of attention ontelevision and in the news.

They aren’t actuallyparticularly tied to any team,they just picked one they hadheard of and that is who theyare following. I can’t live likethat though.

So, I thought I would try tosound out, as clearly aspossible, what West Hammeans to me.

Tradition: The tradition ofthe club is simply astounding.The fans know who they areand know what it means tobe a Hammer. Nothingpleased me so much aboutthe Tottenham game ashearing “Forever BlowingBubbles” come through my

Daniel Ford

What West Hammean to me

ages. Additionally, it soundslike there are some greatplayers coming up throughthe ranks that will give us awonderful base to build on aswe make the move toOlympic Stadium. The moveto Olympic Stadium isanother reason I am hopefulabout the future. I know it willnot be the same as ourcurrent ground, but I can’thelp but feel it will coincidewith more money and effortsto build an even better team.

So, there it is, perhaps overlysimplified and certainlywritten with the naivete of anAmerican fan. But that ishow I feel. The happiest part

television sung by deliriouslyhappy fans who love thesame team I love eventhough we are separated byan ocean. Whether it is thedeclaration that West Hamis “Moore than just a footballclub,” or the homage paid toboth past and presentmembers of the team, I havealways felt like I would beright at home if I were toever make the journey toeast London to spend a dayrooting for the team inperson.

History: I simply love thehistory of the club. It is grittyand real. It has its ups anddowns. In many ways thegreatest moment for WestHam was not for club but forcountry. It just feels real andright to me. The club’semblem looks as old as it isand looks like it will stand thetest of time and be here longafter I am gone. I like thatfeeling. It isn’t something youcan manufacture. It has tooccur naturally, over time.

Future: I know, I know. One ofthese things is not like theother. I also know thatoptimism is not somethingthat most of the fans wearright out on their sleeves. Ican’t help it. I feel greatabout the future for WestHam United. Ravel Morrisonis amazing but we also havea lot of other excellent talenton the team at a blend of

of my week is when I get toroot for West Ham. I spendtime each day looking atnews about the team andtwice as much time scouringtwitter. I love watching theteam play, reading about theteam, and now writing aboutit. West Ham may not be myfirst sports love (that isreserved for a baseballteam,) but it is my greatestsports love...and for me itdoesn’t get any better thanthat.

Follow me on Twitter@jdanielford

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How do you rate Cardiff’sseason thus far?

It’s a bit of slog so far but Ithink we’re getting there.We’ve drawn a lot matchesand not scored enough butthat’s probably the same formost clubs in the bottom halfof the table. Hopefully comethe end of the season we’ll be

around the middle of thetable.

Following on from lastseason in theChampionship, what wereyour expectations cominginto the season?

This is our first season inthe Premier League and I

think our first in the top flightfor over 50 years. It’s hugestep up from theChampionship but I think itwas the right time for us. Wewere under achievers in thatleague for a long time andalways fell at the final hurdle.We knew coming into theseason that is was going tobe tough but I think the right

Opposition View: Cardiff

Tim Hollandspeaks toCardiff City fanChris Palmerabout Bellamy,calling themBluebirds, andthe Wales derby

decisions were made in thesummer in terms ofrecruitment and that’s reallyhelped us.

The club changeddramatically last summer.How have fans adjusted toit?

I’m not going to lie but it’sbeen a big change for thefans. The change angered alot of fans and I know plenty ofpeople that either don’t goanymore or gave upsupporting the club. Fanshave got used to it I supposebut I think as soon as thereare changes at an executivelevel the colour will revertback to blue. I still refer to usas the Bluebirds though!

Do you think Cardiff will bebusy in the January transferwindow?

I think they are areas thatwe will have to improve, we’vegot a lot of strikers andattackers on the books butwe really need one that canscore goals. That’s soundsstupid but we really do!Another winger with pacewould be good as well.

How have your summersignings performed thusfar?

Steven Caulker has beenimmense for us. I think we

spent about £8m on him andI wasn’t sure at the time buthe’s shown how good adefender and captain he is.Again we spent a lot onMedel but he’s been great sofar. We spent a lot onCornelius but he is young sohopefully time will tell withthat signing. I must say I likePeter Odemwingie as well – agood footballer on his dayand for what we paid abargain.

Ex-Hammers Craig Bellamyand Nicky Maynard are nowplying their trade for you.How are they getting on?

Nicky’s only just come backafter a season out so he’sonly been coming on from thesub’s bench. I still think thePremier League might be astep too far for him but we’llsee. Craig was great lastseason but he’s having to bemanaged a bit more this yearbut has recently retired frominternational football whichmay help. He’s still a greatleader on and off the pitch.

Has the derby matchagainst Swansea intensifiednow you’re both in thePremier League?

I don’t think the derby hasintensified it gets morenational press that before butthat’s it. Although as I saidwinning the derby is still a

great feeling. I think we’remore competitive thanpreviously and nothing wouldmake me happier than eitherdoing the double over themor finishing above them.

Who should West Ham fansbe wary of in the Cardiffteam when the club’s meet?

I’ve talked about Medel butI think he’s a good player forus. Fraizer Campbell has alsobeen in decent form recentlyas well which has surprisedme. Kim Bo-Kyung has a lot ofattacking flair as well.

What’s been your opinion ofWest Ham this season?

I think Allardyce’s onedimensional football may havebeen found out this season.His bully boy tactics couldn’twork forever especially nowCarroll’s out injured.

Which West Ham playerswould you have in yoursquad?

Matt Jarvis is the kind ofplayer we need at the clubeither him or Downing.

What’s your prediction forthe match and for bothclubs this season?

2-1 to Cardiff and us tofinish 14th with West Hamfinishing in 17th.

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