West Ham Struggles Continue Versus Gunners

Olivier Giroud & Lukas Podolski celebrate an Arsenal goal.

Arsenal supporters were very happy at the end of this rearranged Boxing Day match.  The West Ham supporters weren't quite so amused, despite being in rapture earlier in the match when their club took the early lead in this London derby.  However, at the end of the day the Gunners' somewhat maligned strike force showed exactly what they were capable of, using a scintillating second half performance to down the Hammers 5-1 at the Emirates.

One would not have guessed that the full time result would include so many goals judging from the opening minutes of the match, when both sides looked a little lethargic and out of sync.  Chances were non-existent in the first ten minutes, and when the first one finally came, it was hardly noteworthy.  On the tenth minute Ricardo Vaz Te put his head to a cross from Guy Demel, but pushed it well wide of the target.

West Ham did look the slightly more dangerous side though, as they tried to press the Arsenal goal.  Carlton Cole missed the target in the 15th minute, but the Hammers finally took the lead in minute 18.  Arsenal failed to totally clear a corner kick, and the ball fell to Jack Collison sitting outside the penalty area.  Collison unleashed a wicked drive that soared past Wojciech Szczesny and tore into the back of the Arsenal net to make it 0-1.

The strike seemed to finally jolt the Gunners awake though, and they responded almost immediately.  In the 22nd minute Jack Wilshere dropped the ball off to Lukas Podolski who was lurking outside the Hammers' box.  The German smacked a shot of his own into the net with a huge drive that probably exceeded the greatness of Collison's effort four minutes earlier.  The Gunners were back in the match at 1-1.

Arsenal finally started to hit their stride with their passing game and started to mount more attacks on the West Ham goal.  They came close to taking the lead right before halftime, when Jussi Jaaskelainen just managed to parry Santi Cazorla's effort away from the top corner, keeping the sides even going into the break.

There was nothing even about the second half though, as Arsenal opened an all out assault on the Hammers from the opening whistle.  In the 47th minute Olivier Giroud volleyed a home a Theo Walcott corner to give the Gunners their first lead of the evening at 2-1.  They were hardly done though.

In the 53rd minute Cazorla got on the board as he took a pass from Podolski and knocked home a goal from close range to make it 3-1 to the Gunners.  Podolski would play provider again just a minute later, hitting Walcott in the center of the box with a spot-on through ball.  The England international promptly slotted it home to make it 4-1 and the blowout was in full effect.  They would tack one more goal on in the 57th minute when Giroud tapped in from up close to complete his brace and make it 5-1.

The venom went all out of the match in the 72nd minute though, when West Ham's Daniel Potts dropped to the floor after a clash of heads with Arsenal's Bacary Sagna.  He was treated on the pitch for some 18 minutes with an emergency blanket, gas, and a neck brace.  He was eventually stretchered off and West Ham continued with 10 men as they had already used all three substitutions.

The match faded out through the 90 and 12 minutes of stoppage time, with 5-1 being the score at the full time whistle.  The three points were huge for Arsenal after back to back losses to City and Chelsea.  Potts spent Wednesday night in a London hospital and tests showed that he had indeed sustained a concussion.  He returned home on Thursday, thanking well wishers on West Ham's website.  He will be evaluated further before he is allowed any future training.

Sunderland Pummels Flat Looking West Ham

Seb Larsson celebrates his opening goal vs West Ham. (Telegraph.co.uk)

Saturday was a largely forgettable day across the EPL with several 0-0 draws.  For Sunderland supporters, however, it was just what the doctor ordered, in the form of a visit from West Ham.  Though higher in the table, the Hammers have been struggling on the road this year, and they've yet to really get their transfer acquisitions into the mix.

From the opening whistle it appeared that the Black Cats were just going to smother West Ham, who came out awfully dull and flat.  They rarely pushed Sunderland in possession and were beaten to nearly every loose ball by a Sunderland squad who knew they desperately needed the three points to distance themselves from the drop zone.  Throughout the opening ten minutes Sunderland worked methodically to stitch the Hammers closer into their own penalty area, and everyone could feel the pressure build.  The said pressure finally paid off in the 12th minute when Sebastian Larsson collected the ball near the top of the penalty arc and smashed a drive into the back of the Hammers net to make it 1-0.

West Ham started to wake up after conceding the goal, but had a really hard time stringing 3-4 passes together, let alone really threatening up in the offensive third.  Newly acquired Joe Cole could not find hardly any time on the ball, and what service that was sent into Carlton Cole was poor.  Finally Matt Jarvis prodded Simon Mignolet out of his easy chair in the 20th minute, but his low shot went pretty much right to the center of the goal and was easily collected.  It would be West Ham's only real chance of the half. 

Sunderland did get a decent look at doubling their lead in the 26th minute when Stephane Sessegnon collected the ball at the top of his offensive third and gave James Collins the traffic cone treatment before rushing onto goal.  Unfortunately for the Sunderland faithful his shot was rather off balance, sailing well wide of the goal and sealing the 1-0 scoreline going into the interval.

It didn't take long for Sunderland to widen the gap after halftime though.  Sessegnon freed James McClean on goal in a 1v1 situation, but Jussi Jaaskelainen showed fine form to perry the shot toward West Ham defender Daniel Potts.  However, instead of at least clearing the ball out for a corner kick, Potts tried to bundle the ball back to his keeper, and Sunderland pounced.  Steven Fletcher got in the way and took a shot from point blank range that was again well saved by Jaaskelainen, but it didn't go away from danger and effectively took the West Ham shot stopper out of the play.  Adam Johnson was on hand for Sunderland and easily tapped into the gaping net to make it 2-0 on 47 minutes.

Sunderland kept their foot on the gas and iced the points in minute 74.  Sessegnon had a close range shot blocked, but it deflect out to McClean, who threaded the ball into the net from a difficult, but possible, angle to make it 3-0.

As for West ham, they never really got off the ground in the second half either.  They subbed in Arsenal loan man Marouane Chamakh to try to provide some punch, but it didn't really help as he never got the required service either.  His one contribution came in the 64th minute when he headed a ball embarrassingly wide off a corner kick.

In the end, Sunderland easily mopped up the points to move up to 25, just one behind West Ham and six points clear of the relegation zone.  Both teams will face FA Cup replays later this week.

Friday EPL Roundup: Chelsea, Newcastle, and West Ham Make Moves

Striker Demba Ba has officially joined Chelsea (Photo: Chelsea FC)

The European, particularly English, transfer window is now in full swing as clubs seek to strengthen their sides for the second half of the season.  The big news is flying in England today as Newcastle striker Demba Ba has officially signed with Chelsea FC.  The Blues offered Newscatle enough in a transfer fee to trigger Ba's automatic release clause.  The fee was rumored to be 7 million pounds.  Ba commented that he is excited to be at Chelsea because "when the team that won the Champions League wants you, it's a fairly easy decision to make."  Ba will replace the recently departed Daniel Sturridge.  Hopefully for the Blues, his knee holds out.  As a side note, since Senegal will not be playing in the African Cup of Nations, Chelsea will retain his services for the next few weeks.  He'll be eligible to play for the Blues during their FA Cup tie this weekend.

Newcastle hurriedly put the transfer fee to good use though.  They have announced the signing of French international fullback Mathieu Debuchy from Lille for a fee rumored to be about 5 million pounds. Debuchy has 12 caps for the French senior side.  Alan Pardew wanted this deal done last summer, but the two sides could not come to agreement.  Debuchy will not be in the squad for Newcastle's FA Cup match this weekend, and the Frenchman is targeting the next EPL match against Norwich for his debut.

West Ham United bolstered their squad today as well with two signings.  First off they signed Joe Cole on a free transfer from Liverpool.  The former Chelsea standout was a major flop at Anfield.  He took a red card in his first EPL match there, and missed a penalty in his next match, a Europa League tie.  He never recovered.  Last season he was loaned to French club Lille, where he scored 9 goals in 42 matches. He did score a goal for Liverpool against West Ham at Upton Park earlier this season , but earned the fans admiration by not celebrating. The Hammers also signed Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh on a loan for the rest of the season.  Chamakh has not started an EPL match for Arsenal in over a year, and has not made a league appearance yet this season.  However, the paperwork did not come through in time, so he will not be available for West Ham this weekend.

In other news, earlier this week West Ham announced that Yossi Benayoun has left the club and returned to Chelsea, ending his loan spell.

EPL Dealings: Down to the Wire!

Forget throwball and politics, it's officially transfer deadline day!  Different leagues across Europe wrap up proceedings at different times, but if the business is to be done, it has to be done today!  For the Barclay's Premier League, the window officially closes a little more than 15 hours from the writing of this entry.  Some big moves have already gone down in the last couple of days with promise of more in the next few hours!

                                                       

In one of the big high profile moves of the day, Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has joined West Ham on a season long loan deal.  Reports are also saying that the Irons will have an option to buy at the end of the loan.

Carroll cited the fact that he had worked with West Ham boss Sam Allardyce at Newcastle as a big reason why he wanted to make the switch.  Last year Liverpool paid 35 million pounds for the big striker's services, but it appears the Hammers finally met the loan conditions.  Carroll told West Ham's website that he's just looking forward to playing games and hopefully scoring some big goals for the side.

Elsewhere in London, QPR have confirmed the signing of Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar.  The deal is still pending international clearance and the visa process, but the Brazilian looks set to begin a four year stint at Loftus Road.  In 7 years between the pipes for Inter, Cesar won the Serie A title five times as well as the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup.  This is a big addition for Mark Hughes' side.

Elsewhere in England, Swansea City have finally agreed to a fee to sell Scott Sinclair to Manchester City.  The Swans rejected a 6.2 million pound offer on Tuesday, but the new City offer supposedly has possible bonuses taking the price up to around 8 million for the former Chelsea man.  Sinclair is holding talks with City on personal terms.  If this goes through, the Swans are likely to continue in their pursuit to sign Spanish veteran Pablo Hernandez from Valencia

Finally, back in London. Fulham look set to sign up Manchester United man Dimitar Berbatov.  At last reports Berbatov was at Fulham taking a medical.  Fulham had previously sold Moussa Dembele to Spurs earlier this week, and they're still fielding options for Clint Dempsey.

That brings us back to Liverpool, who are trying to land two rather large fish.  As mentioned earlier, rumors have persisted that Anfield is keen to move for US International Dempsey, who has sat out Fulham's opening matches.  However there has been little concrete evidence of the process going forward, so it remains to be seen.  The other rumor for the Reds has to do with Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente.  However, this deal was seen as contingent upon being able to SELL Andy Carroll, so it remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure, by the time my American readers get this in the morning, the landscape will have shifted even more.  Look for a full round-up tonight on the Puddle.

EPL Dealings: Chelsea Secure Spanish Defender, Irons Sign Jarvis

Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta has signed with Chelsea.  (Chelsea FC)

Things are heating up across Europe as the summer transfer window winds into it's final days.  In England, clubs are scurrying to take this last chance to better their squads during this calendar year. Today two fairly big name signings came in for a couple of London clubs.

First off, Chelsea FC have acquired the services of Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille.   The 22 year old right back started Marseille's first two Ligue 1 matches, but today has sealed his move to Stamford Bridge.  He's represented Spain at the youth level and competed at the London Olympics this summer.  He made 69 appearances in two years in France.

The deal is rumored to be in the neighborhood of 7 million pounds.

Matt Jarvis has signed with West Ham (metro.co.uk)

A name that is likely to be more familiar to watchers of the Barclay's Premier League is Matt Jarvis.  The England winger and Wolves mainstay has finally made his move to West Ham United.  The Irons have been chasing Jarvis for awhile, and the recently relegated Wolves had rejected at least two prior bids from the club.  The deal that finally went through is rumored to be worth around £10.75million.

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has praised Jarvis as "one of the best final third crossers in the Premier League," and in my opinion, he's not too far off.  Jarvis himself is quoted as saying:

 "I'll be playing with some fantastic players and it'll be great to get into training and I'm looking forward to playing with them. Hopefully I will add a bit of pace, crossing and deliveries that will provide some assists."

"It'll be straight in and hit the ground running. There's no time to think about it, you've just got to get on with it, which is good. I hope to train with the team today and then travel up to Swansea."

Jarvis joins the club on a 5 year deal.  The Irons won their first match of the new EPL campaign beating Aston Villa 1-0 last weekend.

West Ham Home Kit For 2012-2013

You might have missed this one with all the "big clubs" going through the kit reveal season right now. but West Ham United have also released the home kit that they will wear during their return campaign to the Barclay's Premier League.

The kit is designed by Macron, and Italian manufacturer.  The collar design is a bit different this year, with the blue stripe running through it.  According to EPL Talk, there is also an embossed Hammers logo on the back of the shirt.

Sure it's not a radical departure from their previous kits, but I like it.  That's a little weird for me, as I'm generally a fan of the more traditional collars.  All in all, it's great to have West Ham back in the Premier League.

West Ham Signs George John On Loan

It looks like FC Dallas Defender George John has finally gotten his long awaited move to England, at least temporarily. The agreement is for a two month loan to West Ham United. Supposedly the deal also includes an option to make the arrangement permanent.

John has Greek heritage and was disappointed to see a high profile deal to Premiership side Blackburn fall through last summer. Sam Allardyce is pushing for West Ham's promotion after being relegated from the EPL last season.

Nolan Looks to Leave Newcastle

Things have appeared to grow very uneasy these days at Newcastle. Going into the summer window they looked to lock up their core of talent and then hopefully add to it to further their Premier League Position next season.

Well all that seems to have taken a pretty big hit the last couple of days. First off, Kevin Nolan has rejected a deal to stay at St. James Park and looks to be headed to West Ham, where he would be reunited with Big Sam Allardyce.

That news is bad enough, but some players have taken exception to the sale. Among them is Joey Barton, who tweeted his displeasure. Barton has also been told he will not be offered a new deal. Jose Enrique has yet to respond to the club's latest offer as well. It seems that Newcastle may be in jeopardy of losing all three.

I doubt the Toon Army is very pleased.

Sam Allardyce Is the New Boss at West Ham United

Recently relegated club West Ham United announced on Tuesday that Sam Allardyce will be their new manager for the upcoming season as they push to be promoted back to the Premier League.

The Hammers fired Avram Grant immediately after their relegation last month. Rumor has it that Big Sam stands to get a big bonus if he can get the side promoted again at the first time of asking.

Allardyce was fired from Blackburn last December after the club was purchased by some chicken people. Rovers then fell down the table and were nearly relegated themselves.

West Ham is relegated from the EPL. Avram Grant is sacked.

West Ham United became the first team to be relegated from the EPL this season after blowing a 2 goal lead and losing to fellow relegation threatened side Wigan Athletic 3-2.

Hammers head man Avram Grant (douche bag) was sacked as manager following the match. About an hour after the match, to be exact. Kevin Keen will manage the last game of the season next week. One has to wonder if the Hammers might have stood a better chance had they canned Grant in January. I think they might have.

The 3 points keeps Wigan in the thick of the battle to remain in the EPL next season. The last two slots will be decided next weekend.

Scott Parker named FWA Footballer of the Year.

Congratulations are in order for West Ham United MF Scott Parker, who today was named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association.

Great recognition for Scott and West Ham. Hopefully West Ham will stay up, but I still hope Chelsea kicks your butt. Sorry for that!

EPL Thoughts: 4/2/11. Huge day in the title race!

Well, as a Chelsea fan, I'm pretty bummed tonight. If you're an Arsenal fan, you very well might be in the same boat. If, however, you're a Manchester United supporter, you're probably pleased as punch. Looks like the Premiership is yours to lose. Mr. Rooney says, "You're welcome."

First off, at Upton Park, things looked a little bleak for the Red Devils. West Ham won two first half PKs, and converted them both. At this point, Arsenal and Chelsea are licking their lips and thinking that even Robert Green can't screw this up. Right? Well, Wayne Rooney had other ideas, which he frequently does. Today he fancied a hat trick and got to work in the second half. Later, Javier Hernandez came in and added a fourth. A stunning comeback for United that put them in control of the title race, waiting on Chelsea and Arsenal. The result also dropped the Hammers back into the bottom three. I'd hate to see the Hammers go down, I hope they can get it together.

Next up Stoke and Chelsea. The Blues knew they needed to pick up all three points, but let's face it, a game at Stoke is never a walk in the park. Stoke showed their intentions early with a goal in the 8th minute from Jonathan Walters, putting Chelsea on their heals. Didier Drogba brought Chelsea back though, equalizing in the 30th. For the Blues fans, nice to see Drogba back in the side. In the second half, Stoke looked to be the favorite to go ahead for awhile, but couldn't beat Petr Cech. Torres came in late for Chelsea but really didn't look dangerous. In the end, the Blues' title hopes took a big hit with a 1-1 draw.

Surely the Gunners would get it done right? I mean, 2 draws before the FIFA date had already cost them, and they had Blackburn Rovers at home. Plus, they knew they needed the 3 points to keep pace. Well, once again, Arsenal can't get it done when it counts. Despite a lively match from Theo Walcott and a fairly consistent attack, they couldn't find the back of the Blackburn net. They almost went down a goal when Almunia got caught out and watched a shot go just wide. Much frustration for the Gunners. Another draw, this one 0-0 with a relegation threatened club. Hard to believe that just a few weeks back Arsenal was in the running for 4 trophies. Rovers pick up a crucial point to stay above the drop zone.

In other results of note, Spurs had a goalless draw at Wigan and failed to make up any ground on the top four. West Brom beat Liverpool 2-1 and picked up three crucial points. Plus, that result makes me really happy for Roy Hodgson. It also deals a mortal blow for any hopes Liverpool had of trying to claw into a Champions League spot. I guess King Kenny isn't perfect after all.