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

Are there any summer bargains to be had?

Warning to Gold & Sullivan: Don’t mess with our identity

Five Championship players we should sign

Why we shouldn’t take Palace lightly

Looking back on a season of highs and lows

& much more

WELCOME

News Editor Alex Shilling is partial to a bit of the 1980 FACup Final jersey, Lucy Woolford likes the 2000 shirt, andTales from the Sandpit writer and myself love donning the1986 top. What is your favourite retro West Ham Unitedshirt? And, more importantly, do you love to bephotographed in it as happily as I do?

We have teamed up with Campo Retro to sell classicretro clothing from yesteryear and we are pleased to sayto celebrate our partnership, we are giving you the chanceto win your choice of shirt from our collection of classicWest Ham United retro shirts from 1958 to 2000.

All you need to do is find our “Retro West Ham ShirtCompetition” page on our website and fill in the form to bein with a chance of winning. We will select the winner atrandom and email you asking for your choice of shirt, sizeand delivery address and Campo Retro will then send youyour choice of vintage Hammers clothing.

Our competition closes at 11.59pm on Saturday 26April 2014 so don’t delay, enter today!

Turning to this weekend’s clash and I am fearful ofPalace. At the start of the season, I felt we would take sixpoints from the Eagles but under Pulis, they haveimpressed me. Having said that, if we can take the game tothem and play with a high tempo, I believe we will haveenough to secure a 2-0 victory. Enjoy the game!

EDITOR: David BlackmoreNEWS EDITOR: Alex ShillingCONTRIBUTORS: Daniel Ford,Toby Fry, Tim Holland, AndrewHosie, Thomas Johnson, MattSanter, Julian Shea, BrianWilliams, Lucy Woolford

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(c) Blowing BubblesDavid BlackmoreEditor

It’s a nice feeling toessentially be home andhosed this season with a fewgames to spare, particularlyhaving had such a lacklustrestart to the calendar year.

Discontent with ourachievements can perhapsnow become a distantmemory, with everything nowseeming to be on the vergeof rosy. Being in a fortunateenough position to be

planning for another term inthe Premier League, allattention will now be turningto who we can bring in tostrengthen the squad fornext season.

Big Sam will also bemindful that more of apurposeful finish to2014/15 is vital inpreparation for the muchanticipated (or dreaded)stadium move.

So where can we look andwhat sort of players do weneed? The obvious initialports of call would be thoseclubs in immediate danger ofrelegation, with Sunderlandbeing a fairly good place tostart.

Adam Johnson just cannotseem to settle anywheresince leaving Middlesbrough,but for a handful of inspiredperiods for Manchester City

Matt Santer

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BargainBasement: Whowould be worthsnapping up?

and this year for the BlackCats.

He has recently beenmooting his worth in theEngland set-up, but this hasbeen beaten down by someas a delusion of grandeurhaving mostly been a non-starter for Gus Poyet.

There is, however,absolutely no doubting thatJohnson has talent inabundance.

Perhaps he has beenlacking a manager with thetenacity to bring it out on aregular basis.

Steven Caulker was a boldpurchase for Cardiff City oncepromoted and the defenderwas immediately given thecaptain’s armband at thetender age of 21.

A reported price tag inexcess of £8million, thetowering centre-half has beenpart of a well-financed Cardiffside this season.

He has the attributes toplay a major part at a mid-table club, which is why hecould provide yet moreexcellent cover at the backfor us with a footballing brainbeyond his years.

Bradley Johnson is a playerI think fits the mould of aplayer favoured by Big Sam;hard working, adventurouswith the ball and powerful.

His performance at theweekend was outstanding,

with a Hollywood pass overthe Fulham defence being ahighlight. His Norwich teamwas not rewarded with a win,but he is doing his marketvalue no damage whatsoevershould they not avoidrelegation.

His game oozes energy,and having entered the worldin Hackney he might just betempted with a move to EastLondon.

Wilfried Bony has doneeverything humanly possibleto help Swansea stay awayfrom the drop, notching animpressive 17 goals. The Swans should havebeen well out of sight by now,but a dip in form and asacked manager has leftthem dangerously close tothe bottom-three.

Would he provide a goodenough strike partner forAndy Carroll, or does ourtowering, long-haired Geordieprefer cutting a loan figure?

Regardless, we needserious reinforcements inattacking positions, so theIvorian could be a decentoption.

Diego Poyet, son of thefamous Uruguayan Gus, wasrumoured to be a target forus on the back of his displaysfor Charlton in theChampionship this season.

The Spanish-born 19-yearold is a creative and

composed holding midfielder,perhaps not quite ready forthe Premier League butcertainly a strong prospectfor the next few years.

I think a lot of our successwill depend on the approachtaken by both the executiveand footballing managementtowards youth development,with a view to creating astrong and preferably Englishsquad for our move toStratford.

Signings from relegatedclubs can go either way forthe purchaser, either adeflated player with hisenergy spent or a hungrywinner, determined to provehimself despite his sidedropping out of the league.

The danger with recruitingfrom beneath the top flightcan present the sameproblem, with time neededfor them to find their feet.

In any case we are notexactly renowned for pullingin show stoppers, a patternwhich needs to change andfast if we have any hope ofambitiously broaching theEuropean spots.

What good is a 55,000-seater stadium with moreempty seats than fans insideit?

Follow me on Twitter@MattSanter

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Talk about knowing how tostart rumours. On themorning of April 9, WestHam co-owner David Goldtweeted his views on the Hullrenaming issue: ‘If the fansand owner of Hull wish tochange there name, on whatbasis does the FA refuse?After all the club belongs tothe fans not the FA.’

Given that vice-chairmanKarren Brady had previously

said that she ‘loved the ideaof calling the club West HamOlympic’ after the OlympicStadium move – asuggestion promptly shotdown by the powers that be– Gold’s comment provokeda flurry of replies.

Although he did not expandon his tweet with furtherdiscussion, the strength ofopinion generated showedthe importance of a club’s

identity in the eyes of manyfans.

With many teams acentury or more old, theirmodern-day incarnationshave left most of their rootslong behind, so badges,names and colours areamong the few remainingsignificant connections withthe past, hence being suchtouchy subjects.

Julian Shea

For more articles like this, read Julian’s column for Club Metro atMetro.co.uk/author/JulianShea

Hammers andTigers takenote: Don’tmess with aclub’s identity

The way Vincent Tandecided that Cardiff’s blueand white kit, worn since1910, was merely anaccessory which could bechanged for the Malaysian (Ihate using this word in afootball context) marketshowed he might as well befrom Mars as from Malaysia,for all his understanding offan culture and thinking.

The fact Bluebirds (for thatis what they are) fans displaytheir blue and white scarvesas a gesture ofdissatisfaction sums upperfectly how wrong he hasgot it. The case of AssemAllam in Hull is slightlydifferent, but has descendedinto similar acrimony.

Taking over and supportinghis adopted home town’s clubwas the latest in a series offrequent philanthropic

gestures, but the way he hastried to railroad through thename change by threateningto withdraw his support hascaused huge ill-feeling,overshadowing the team’sbuild-up to their first FA Cupfinal appearance.

Badges, colours andemblems are not just bits ofdecoration like wallpaper, tobe altered whenever peopleget the urge.

They matter, they are keyto a club’s, and a fan’s,identity.

Imagine that theIcelanders who owned WestHam prior to Gold and DavidSullivan had, in their brieftenure, changed the name toWest Ham Vikings, or alteredthe colours to those of theIcelandic national team.

You can bet that their firstacts would have been to

restore the club’s propername and colours, as a signthat true fans were at thehelm once again.

Many things change overthe course of our lives – jobs,houses, relationships – butone thing that remainspermanent in the life of afootball fan is their choice ofteam.

Even if you’re backing aloser, you don’t walk away.Logic defying? Yes – butsince when has the head hadanything to do withsomething that is as muchfrom the heart as football?

That’s why the trappings ofa club’s identity matter somuch. Meddle with them atyour peril.

Follow me on Twitter@JulianSheaSport

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It’s almost been two seasonsfor the boys from SelhurstPark with the fans enduring aconfusing first few months totheir return to the top tier ofEnglish football.

Manager Ian Holloway wasrumoured to be leaving afterbringing in a plethora of newfaces in the summer transferwindow and the club werelooking like they were in for aseason of struggle.

After Holloway left, it took amonth for the club to searchand deliberate but they finallysettles on the man with TonyPulis. The capture washeralded as a top signing

from pundits after themanager’s work at formerclub Stoke and despite manydiscussions about the style ofplay Pulis implements into histeam, there’s no doubt thatsince his arrival, SelhurstPark has become a toughplace to visit.

In fact the job that Pulishas done since his arrival hasseen many call for him to bemanager of the year but thataccolade will surely go toLiverpool’s Brendan Rodgersor the impressive RobertoMartinez of Everton.

Crystal Palace pose adifficult task when they head

to the Boleyn Ground, withboth teams mainly opting forsimilar styles of long balls totarget men. That’s not to sayeither team can’t mix it up atpoints during the game, thelikes of Puncheon for thevisitors and Diame for thehome side give each anexciting option in attack.

One Palace signing thatHammers fans would’ve beeninterested by last summerwas the arrival of Chamakhfrom Arsenal.

After a difficult time at theGunners, the centre forwardarrived on a loan at UptonPark last season for the end

Thomas Johnson

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A glance at Crystal Palace

of season run in. It’s safe tosay he was mightilyunimpressive when Big Samgave him his very fewchances.

The Moroccan internationalhas endeared himself to theSelhurst Park faithful with hiswork rate and has notchedfive strikes, but has becomean important player for theEagles with his hold up playand linking the ball to the likesof Puncheon and CameronJerome.

Palace were tipped tostruggle this season afterlosing star player WilfriedZaha to Manchester Unitedbut as Pulis did sosuccessfully at Stoke, he hascreated a great team ethicthat must be admired as hepulled the club out of therelegation battle and on theirway to safety.

The January transferwindow was vital for theEagles, bringing in Joe Ledley,making Puncheon’s loanpermanent and bringing inquality competition for thegoalkeepers’ position bysigning Wayne Hennesseyfrom WolverhamptonWanderers to challenge clubnumber one Julian Speroni.

It might not be the prettiestgame of football when Palacearrive at the Boleyn Groundbut it will put both team’s fightand spirit to the test.

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With West Ham essentiallysecuring safety with the winat Sunderland, I find myselfthinking more about whatnext year might look like.

I feel, and have felt prettystrongly all year, that if theright decisions are made wehave a potentially strongteam going into next season.

The biggest decision thatneeds to be made is what todo about Ravel Morrison.

He is a brilliant talent andhas the mercurial naturethat all such talents have.

I understand the hesitanceof the team and of the fans

to embrace that but thereality is that part of movingforward as an organisation isgoing to be learning how tohandle such personalities.

The next decision that hasto be made is what to do inthe transfer market, both interms of who to buy and whoto sell.

Recent reports seem tosuggest that Jarvis is on theway out. I understand thissentiment but I am not sureit best serves the teamunless a better winger is tobe had. Our team is flushwith talent in the centre of

the midfield and Big Samalready has a habit of playingDiame out wide when that isnot his game.

There is also the matter ofgetting one more striker,unless Elliot Lee is ready forthe big time.

Andy Carroll is a worldclass talent and I love CarltonCole but an injury to eitherputs us in the same kind ofbad place we were in earlierthis year.

Getting one more PremierLeague player at thatposition is necessary toreach a higher level ofsuccess next year.

One place to look for solidadditions to the team wouldbe with the teams that arelikely to go down. Many havetalked about Sunderland’sAdam Johnson and he wouldbe a great addition to ourmidfield.

If West Ham were able tosign Adam Johnson, a qualitystriker and perhaps onemore defensive stalwart aswell as bring back RavelMorrison, we could be in aposition to push on and evenchallenge for a spot in theEuropa League next season.

With one more yearbefore moving to OlympicStadium, it is key that this bethe sort of track the Davidsdecide upon.

Daniel Ford

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Next season’s team

I don’t like the word‘penultimate’. It makes mefeel like something sad isabout to happen.

Well, this is thepenultimate home game ofthe season ahead of thepenultimate season at UptonPark, so I guess I’m justified inmy dislike.

As near the end of the13/14 season, I thought it’dbe a good time to look back atWest Ham’s campaign froma footballing and personalperspective, as well as take aquick look at what has beenanother fascinating PremierLeague season.

Let’s start with what we’remost interested in, how theHammers have fared out sofar. It’s been a bit of adisappointment when wecompare it to last season’s10th place, which had us allamazed and excited for theyear to come. I guess thatcommon “Second SeasonSyndrome” kicked in after all.

We haven’t failed this year,which is the important thing.

Yeah, all right, we all wantto see nicer football, butespecially for this season, I’mcontent to have sacrificedthat to stay in the PremierLeague.

Style and performance issomething that can beworked on but facing grittychallenges in theChampionship every week isboth losing money and failingto progress.

We had a decent LeagueCup run this year, whichseemed to do confidence theworld of good for a while.

We did similar to whatManchester United havedone in the ChampionsLeague and played with lesspressure and expectation,and it seemed to pay off. Untilwe were unlucky enough to bedrawn against Man City.

Lucy Woolford

Fancy writing a West Ham column? Or would you like to interview some ofyour favourite West Ham players of the past?

Looking back on 13/14

I had City down as firm titlecontenders from the start. Infact, I quite wanted them towin it.

They still might, but withoutmy well wishes any more. Wewere absolutely played off thepark at the Etihad in the firstleg of the League Cup semi-final, and even then I wantedour opponents to lift thePremier League trophy.

I thought it’d be lovely towatch their silky smooth playand to have lovely football winthe league. But then they gota bit, well, boring.

So we all know the natureof our humiliating dumping outof the League Cup, and the FACup wasn’t that different. Iwon’t say the defeat toNottingham Forest was moreembarrassing, because wedid something that the fanshad been urging Big Sam todo for ages, and that was playthe youngsters.

It was televised as well, sowe all had the pleasure ofwatching an abysmal 90minutes against theChampionship side.

Our league run hasn’t quiteoffered the heartache ofeither cup runs. Our biggestleague defeat so far has beenby three goals (albeit on morethan one occasion), and a fewperformances have beenworthy of actually watching,unlike shipping five goals

against Forest. It’s hard to look back at theseason for me, because I’venot been to many games,which is unusual for me. Butnext season, regardless ofthe end to this one, I’ll beback!

But I have to say in years tocome, it won’t be a season Iremember. I won’t look backand think about all of thememorable games, not likethe last few years. If I couldsum it up in a word, I’dprobably use “meh”!

Although the highlight ofthe season was mostdefinitely the whole month ofFebruary, in which we didn’tactually have Andy Carroll atour disposal. but I got such abuzz from those four wins.That month pretty muchsaved our season, and gaveus something great to smileabout.

I might remember the13/14 Premier League ingeneral for its incredible titlerace, one more open than I’veever seen. Add to that themost scrappy bottom halfwith at times only a few pointsseparating 11th from therelegation zone, then you’dhave to say it’s been a prettyinteresting few months.

The biggest change thisyear has been the lack ofFergie. I wish David Moyeswell at Man Utd, simply

because I want him to provethat the club wasn’t all aboutSir Alex Ferguson, and thatsomeone else can bring thoseplayers to their potential. Butfor this year, the lack of RedDevils at the top has been awelcome change.

We might see Liverpool winthe league, something that Icouldn’t have predicted fromthe start, but they have justgot the most unbelievablestrike force. Any team wouldpay any money for that kind ofskill and consistency.

But it’s not over yet. Thereare still scores to be settledat the top, bottom and middleof the Premier League, andfrom a footballing perspective,that will make for a brilliantend to the season.

Then following that, at leastwe have a World Cup to lookforward to, hopefully with atleast one West Ham name inthere. With poor ol’ JayRodriguez laid up for thesummer, big Andy Carrollmight get his call up after all.

This season has done it’sjob. It might not be a prettyjob with cherries on top, butWest Ham look to havesealed their Premier Leaguestatus for next season atleast, the penultimate one atour beloved Boleyn.

Follow me on Twitter@lucy_whufc

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Dear Sam,Now that restraining order

you had taken out against mehas been lifted, I thought itwas about time we got backto exchanging a bit of goodnatured banter.

Sorry about that last email,I didn’t realise there wassuch a fine line betweenconstructive criticism andthreatening behaviour. Still,no hard feelings, eh?

I’m can’t tell you how muchI’m looking forward toSaturday. To be honest, I’msurprised the ticket priceshaven’t been doubled for thisone. Spain may have its Il

Classico, but how’s that evergoing to compare with WestHam v Crystal Palace?

Goals, glamour, glory – mymouth is watering at theprospect. Messi andRonaldo? Forget ‘em. Whoneeds a bunch of one-trickponies like that when you cango to Upton Park and marvelat the silky skills of one of theworld’s all-time greats.

I’ve got to hand it to youmate, you are one shrewd oldfox! You certainly knew whatyou were doing when yousigned Stewart Downing. Andfor the knock-down price ofjust £6m! You must have

needed a big stick to fight offthe competition for hismoniker.

That boy really is a specialtalent. Trouble is, thosearound him just aren’t on thesame wavelength.

There’s poor old Stew,flogging his guts out trying tosupply a constant stream ofcrosses, and no one seemsto be able to get anywherenear them. That’s the troublewith genius – the peoplearound you never seem tounderstand what you’re allabout.

Downing is clearlyattempting to put the ball into

Dear Sam

Fancy writing a West Ham column? Or would you like to interview some ofyour favourite West Ham players of the past?

the sort of areas that theopposition aren’t expecting.

Trouble is, our lads clearlyaren’t expecting it either.

You’ve got to sort this outin training, Sam. Any idiot canpass the ball directly to ateam-mate, but opponentscan see that coming.

That’s why Stew tries toput it 10 yards behind (or 10yards in front, or 10 yardsover their head); no defendercan live with that. Just let ourboys in on the secret ofwhere he’s going to pass itnext, and the goals will flowlike honey off a warm spoon.

I particularly like the wayyou’ve taken the weight off hisshoulders by freeing him ofthe worry of scoring goalshimself. That was a realmasterstroke.

I can imagine theconversation in your office atthe beginning of the season:“Don’t you worry aboutbursting the onion bag,Stewart my old son – youstick to what you’re best atand leave that to the others.”

And hasn’t he followedthose instructions to theletter? Not a single goal allseason!

Now there’s a team playerfor you. I have to tell Sam, meold china plate, that lad isdifferent gravy.

It’s going to be a real oldtactical tussle when you and

Tony Pulis go head to head onSaturday – I’ve been lickingmy lips in anticipation of thatfor weeks. What have you gotup your sleeve?

Honest, you can let me inon the secret – I won’t tell asoul. My brother-in-lawreckons you’re going for adiamond, but my money’s ona flat back nine with MarkNoble holding in midfield.

I do hope you’re notplanning on throwing cautionto the wind now we’re clearof the relegation places.

You can’t underestimate ateam like Palace – with thesort of talent they possessthey can hurt you from allover the pitch. That JasonPunchdrunk is a goalmachine and his mateJeremy Cameron is a bittasty as well (my brother-in-law reckons he’s related tothe prime minister; is thatright?)

I always enjoy a visit fromthe Palace boys – not that ithappens all that often! Thelast time they were in the topflight my mate who supportsthem reckoned they’d be inthe Prem for three seasons.

He was right, too. Theystayed up for autumn, winterand spring.

You always get a good sing-song with Palace, though.What with their Glad All Overand our Twist and Shout, it’s

like being back in the Sixtiesagain. They were good times,eh Sam?

I can just picture you onBrighton seafront on a bankholiday Monday with yourParka and Lambretta,whistling a bit of Who andlooking for the local WimpyBar. We might even havebumped into one another!

Of course, if we had, I’dhave probably wrapped abicycle chain round yourearhole cos I was a Rockerand I hated you Mods. But, asI said at the beginning, nohard feelings.

Oh, while I think of it, thenext we all start booing, I’djust ignore it if I were you.

You shouldn’t take thesethings too personally. And I’dadvise against cupping yourear in our direction again; weonce had a useless little pratcalled Nigel who tried a stuntlike that – and it didn’t winhim any friends in E13, I cantell you.

Just laugh it off and thinkabout your retirement plansfor 2016. We certainly are.

Go get ‘em tiger!

Your mate behind the goal

Dear Sam is written byBrian Williams.

Follow him on Twitter@BrianWill26

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It’s hard to believe we arerapidly approaching the endof yet another season – aseason again of a few highsand quite a lot more absurdlows which is par for thecourse for a West Ham fan.

It never ceases to amazeme how football can createextremes of emotion week inweek out, thinking back towatching in disbelief as weturned over Tottenham atWhite Hart Lane and thenwatching in equal disbeliefacross the Christmas period.

Safe to say I think therehas been a lot more lowpoints this season than high

points and looking back onthings I actually think it’smore of a relief that theargument between BEINSports and the FootballAssociation meant that I wasshielded from someparticularly miserableSaturday evenings.

As we go in to the last fourmatches, though, we can atleast be satisfied that we willbe playing Premier Leaguefootball again next season.

This may not have beenthe season we had hoped forback in August and againquestions must be asked asto how we suffer a perennial

injury crisis that dashes ourhopes of achieving some sortof silverware in a season, or abetter league placing thanthe previous season, whichI’m sure has to be the goalfor any club.

Indeed, I had a sneakythought that this year wecould have won the CapitalOne Cup and even placed awager before the start of theseason that this would be theyear we would do so.

For a while it appeared thatthis could happen and, in fact,there were worrying signsthat our season wasbeginning to mirror that of

Tales from the Sandpit: Andrew Hosie

Andrew is a member of the Dubai Hammers Supporters’ Club. You can follow them on Twitter @DubaiHammers

Faded hopes and revived dreams

the Avram Grant debacleespecially as we slidalarmingly into the bottomthree so at least we can all bethankful that it has not turnedout that way.

So after the boos, theinjuries, ‘four in a row’February, the Carroll sendingoff, the 5-0 Forest defeat, the6-0 Man City defeat, the 3-0away win to Tottenham, therise (and fall) of Ravel, thedeparture and return of Cole,the loan of a League 1 playerso we could at least play adefender and our newgoalkeeping hero, we reachthe last four games in a farmore secure position thanmany of us were envisioningafter the Christmas period.

I was always concerned aswe languished in the bottomthree not so long ago that ourlast two games of the seasonmay have been incrediblyimportant and worryinglydifficult to get anything out ofand doom us to a disastrousreturn to the Championship.

Of course, at that time, Iwas not looking at the run-insof the teams around us andnow having seen what otherteams are facing I can only bedelighted that we are not fansof Norwich City.

So how will this weekend’smatch turn out? This is goingto be an interesting one.When I looked at the fixture

list way back in July when itwas published and saw thetwo teams we were playing atthe end I spotted this gameand marked it as a threepoint banker to take anypressure we might have beenunder off.

Then when we playedPalace away, Tony Pulis hadjust been installed as theirmanager and I did think wewere going to be in for atough time as it proved withour 1-0 defeat.

Since he has come in, hehas tightened up theirdefence immensely, andcreated a team that is toughto beat and fear no-one. Justask Jose Mourinho whatthat’s like.

Conversely, the fact thatCrystal Palace have reachedthe position they are in couldhelp us as subconsciouslythey will know they are all butsafe too.

What I do hope though isthat this does not mean wehave a drab ‘end of season’affair to mooch over andstart wishing the season wasover already.

It would be great if for oncewe just handsomely beatsomeone, give a team a goodhiding a la Tottenham to giveus all a joyous Saturday night.

I don’t think it will happenthis weekend as both teamswill continue with strongdefensive performances butwhat we can do is attempt tosecure ourselves in the tophalf of the Premier Leaguebecause that sure looks a lotbetter than featuring in thebottom half.

How many of us would havetaken that in the dark days ofJanuary? I certainly would.Enjoy the game!

Follow me on Twitter@hosiemon

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How do you rate CrystalPalace’s season?

I think we’ve achieved morethan most expected of us thisseason and we’ve overcomea very poor start to theseason to climb up the table.It’s been a long season and Ithink the step up from theChampionship is difficult forany club and Cardiff’s plighthas shown that you can’t justthrow money at it either.

Since we lasted talked TonyPulis has had time to markhis mark on the team. Howhave you rated him?

I did think he was anuninspired choice but he’sground out results like theChelsea match and we’vebecome more resilient thanwe were under Holloway.He’s very much like Allardycein that some fans aren’toverly keen on his style ofplay but for me I’m happy atthe moment.

Do you think you’ll avoid thedrop?

I think, like you, we’re notmathematically safe but inreality we are. As soon as we

reach 40 points I’ll breathe abit easier.

What are your expectationsfor next season?

I’d be happy for mid-tablesecurity and a League Cuprun. Don’t ask me why theLeague Cup – I just prefer it.

What have you made of yoursignings this season?

We made so manysignings last summer that Ithink that was the reason forour poor early season form.Our January signings were

Opposition View: Crystal Palace

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Tim Holland speaksto Selhurst Parkregular Peter Roy

good though and much morestrategic and improve us inkey areas. Scott Dann hasadded some strength to ourdefence with Ledley and Incerunning the show in midfield.

Jason Puncheon has been ahighlight this season. Do youhe’ll be at Selhurst nextseason?

I doubt it. I only hope thatSouthampton either haven’t

been watching the last fewgames or really don’t ratehim because I’d love to seehim at the club next season.

Who should West Ham fansbe wary of in the CrystalPalace team when the club’smeet?

Puncheon has been ingreat form of late. Tom Incemade an immediate impact

and I’d like to see us keep himafter his loan finishes.

What’s been your opinion ofWest Ham this season?

I thought you’d continue tostruggle once Andy Carrollcame back but you’vesurprised me and I thinkCarroll has played his wayinto the World Cup squad inthe process.

Which West Ham playerswould you have in yoursquad?

Diame is a player who’d fitin well at Palace along withJames Tomkins at the back.Maybe he could partner OldGabbs at centre back?!

You predicted 17th and18th for both clubs thisseason. Were you a bitpessimistic?

I think I was a bit but it wasimpossible to tell how tight itwould be at the bottom of thetable and how poor someclubs would be this season.I’m pleased that both clubswill achieve mid-tableobscurity.

What’s your prediction forthe match?

I’ll go for 3-0 to Palace.

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Sam Allardyce reportedly flewout to Germany last Saturdayto watch FC Nurnberg’s topgoal scorer in their matchagainst Wolfsburg.

The man in question is JosipDrmic, the Switzerlandinternational is in just his firstseason at FC Nurnberg sincejoining the Bundesliga outfitlast July. Like most West Hamfans, I’d never heard of him, sojust who is he?

Josip Drmic doesn’t havethe most Swiss of surnames,and that’s because he is ofCroatian descent but wasraised in Switzerland.

He was spotted as a youthplayer by top Swiss side – FCZurich. After spending eightyears in the youth set-up,Drmic got his first chance torepresent the club at seniorlevel, playing for the FC ZurichII’s. It was here that Drmic’sgoal-scoring nous came intoeffect as he ended his firstseason with 26 goals in his 26appearances for the seconds.

This prompted Drmic to geta call-up to the FC Zurich firstteam aged just 17. He scoredhis first goal for the first teamtwo seasons later after arather sporadic time andscored 13 league goals in hisfinal season with FC Zurichbefore his move to Germany.Drmic also representedSwitzerland for the first time

aged 17, making just oneappearance for the Under-18's.

He swiftly moved onto theUnder-19's and scored sixgoals in seven appearances.

He scored another six goalsfor the Under-21's andrecently earned himself a call-up to the Switzerland seniorteam, and scored his first twogoals against Croatia in March2014.

FC Nurnberg signed Drmicon a four-year contract lastJuly, and in his first seasonDrmic has scored 16 leaguegoals in 28 appearances,making him joint-second in the

league top scorers, just onegoal behind Bundesliga“superstars” Mario Mandzukicand Robert Lewandowski.

All that, and he is just 21years of age, combined withthe fact that he’s playing for aside sitting in one of theautomatic relegation spots, willcertainly create high interestaround Europe.

We are therefore certainlygoing to face immensecompetition. But we are in thefight for him and with thepulling power of London tohand - we always stand achance.

Toby Fry

Toby also writes for Forever West Ham. Follow them on Twitter@Forever_WestHam or read similar articles at ForeverWestHam.com

The goal machine who hascaptured Allardyce’s eye

There might be severalgames left of West Ham’sseason but with our PremierLeague status almostassured for next season,supporters on social mediaare turning their attention toa whole host of players theHammers could sign thissummer.

The biggest problem SamAllardyce will face in the closeseason is not who wants tocome to West Ham but if hehas the wage and transferbudget to accommodate anew big signing.

So rather than look atplayers from other European

clubs and leagues, I haveselected five players from theChampionship I hopeAllardyce has on his summerwish list.

Jordan Rhodes (BlackburnRovers)

There hasn’t been atransfer window go by in thelast couple of years withoutme arguing the case for thesignature of Jordan Rhodes.He was prolific withHuddersfield and scored 87goals in 148 appearances.He has done remarkably wellat Rovers too, bagging 50

goals in 85 outings. Aged just24, surely now is the time tosnap him up?

Ross McCormack (LeedsUnited)

He is the Championship’stop goalscorer and I don’tthink it’s a huge secret SamAllardyce will be hoping tosign McCormack after failingto land him in January. Hehas scored 27 goals in 39games so far this season inan average Leeds Utd teamand it is thought he is keen tohave another crack at thePremier League. With the

David Blackmore

For more articles like this, read David’s column for Club Metro atMetro.co.uk/author/david-blackmore

Five Championshipplayers Allardyce shouldsign for West Ham

trouble Leeds are having atthe moment, there may be abargain to be had here.

Will Hughes (Derby County)

He was named the FootballLeague Young Player of theYear earlier this month,beating Leicester Citydefender Liam Moore andAlex Pritchard, the midfielderon loan at Swindon Townfrom Tottenham Hotspur.Liverpool were favourites tocapture this 18 year oldplaymaker ahead of Arsenaland Manchester United inJanuary but with noconfirmed deal during the lasttransfer window, there is achance he might fancy playingregularly for West Hamrather than Capital One cupappearances for one of thetitle-chasing sides.

Danny Ings (Burnley)

He was named the Sky BetChampionship Player of theYear at the Football LeagueAwards 2014 and it hasn’tbeen hard to see why. He hasmade huge strides forBurnley this season and hispartnership with Sam Vokesis one of the main reasonswhy Burnley are enjoying asuccessful campaign. Ingshas been almost unstoppableat times this season with his

pace and movement, allied tosome deadly finishing, takinghim to the 20-goal mark bythe first weekend in January.The 21-year-old’s superbform has not gone unnoticedand he is also now a memberof Gareth Southgate’sEngland Under-21 squad withtwo international goals to hisname already.

Jamaal Lascelles(Nottingham Forest)

Liverpool are reportedlyleading the race to sign this

promising 20 year old centreback who is already onArsenal’s radar and has risento prominence with a stringof eye-catching performancesfor the Championshippromotion chasers. Havingwatched him a few times thisseason, there is no doubt inmy mind he would link upbrilliantly with both Tomkinsand Reid at the heart of theHammers defence.

Follow me on Twitter@DavidBlackm0re

Do you agree with David? Let us know what you think about this piece bytweeting @WestHamFanzine

How do you assess WestBrom’s season so far?

It’s been a strange seasonfor me. Going out of bothcups early and being draggedinto the relegation fight hasbeen tough but we’ve hadsome good results along theway. I just want the season tobe over now.

Since we last spoke it’sbeen all change with PepeMel coming in. What’s yourview on that?

A strange decision for me.A lot of friends of mine liked

the sound of Pepe Mel butit’s more down to him beingmore exotic than SteveClarke. Mel has done all rightwithout impressing me thatmuch.

You wanted mid-tablesecurity and a decent cuprun this season. Are youdisappointed this seasonhas gone to plan?

Not disappointed moredespondent. Being a WestBrom fan has never beeneasy but going from being inthe hunt for Europe oneseason to relegation fight the

next is never easy. But Isuppose if I wanted an easylife I’d support Man United.

Where would you say it’s allgone wrong this season?

Scoring goals has been anissue. Our top league goalscorers have managed fourthis season which is pitiful.Changing managers in aseason never helps mattersfor me. Neither does sellingone of better players inShane Long to one of rivals.

The Anelka situationprobably didn’t help

Opposition View: WBA

Ex-Hammer Julian Dicks is available to give your team [adults and kids] aprofessional coaching session on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis

Tim Hollandcatches upwith WestBromwichAlbion fanRoger Francis

matters. How have yourother signings got on?

I was pleased with all thesignings on paper but paperdoesn’t always tell the wholetruth. Anelka was a qualitystriker in his day but he’sstruggled with his attitudeand with authority. Hisgesture in our last game hasultimately defined his and ourseason. I had high hopesSessegnon, Anichebe andVydra but ultimately they’ve allfailed to impress.

Do you think you’ll avoid thedrop?

I think we’ll just about makeit. I think following ChrisHughton’s ridiculous sacking,Norwich will need a miracle tosurvive and will be joined bySunderland and Cardiff.

Do you think you’ll be able tokeep hold of SaidoBerahino?

He had a great start to theseason but has faded. His off-field antics have disappointedme as well and I think he’ll goat the end of the season.

Who should West Ham fansbe wary of in the West Bromfirst XI when the club’smeet?

Amalfitano has played wellrecently and has been in thegoals so he might surpriseyou. Dorrans has beengetting back some form aswell.

What’s been your opinion ofWest Ham this season?

You now look comfortablein the league which is anenviable position although itsounds as though the fanswant better football which isunderstandable. My advicefor you lot is better the devilyou know.

Which West Ham playerswould you have in yoursquad?

I was surprised that you letRavel Morrison go out onloan especially as he looks tobe destroying theChampionship. Andy Carroll’sreturn from injury andsuspension looks to havegiven your team a lift.

What’s your prediction forthe match and for the end ofleague standings?

1-1 for the match and WestBrom 16th, West Ham 12th.

Contact Julian by emailing him on juliandicks3@icloud.com or following him onTwitter @Julian3Dicks

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