I have zero tolerance towards drink driving, and it’s not just because I don’t drink myself. For Carlton Cole to be found over the limit at 4.30am, driving through Westminster is a disgrace, and he needs to be made an example of, both by the courts and by his new manager. Zola will be horrified and see it as a personal insult. Cole is an athlete and should behave like one.

More HERE.

BBC Sports Editor reveals that West Ham are about to enter preliminary discussions about taking over the Olympic Stadium in 2012. Earlier talks between the club and Ken Livingstone, when he was, had foundered despite the club offering £100 million to take it over. That, apparently, wasn’t enough for Red Ken. The other stumbling block was the plan to scale back its capacity to 25,000. The new idea is to have a 50,000 capacity.

Anyway, read the full article HERE and leave a comment with your views. I have an open mind. I love Upton Park, but I do think if we have ambitions to enter the big time we need a bigger capacity for the big games.

THIS article by Martin Samuel in The Times today is one of the finest pieces of sports journalism I have read in a long while. It single handedly demolishes the kangaroo court which found us guilty yesterday.

Not really a great day for the Hammers, yesterday, was it? And when you think I had to drive to Watford from Manchester listening to Gordon Brown most of the way down the M6, you’ll realise why I was in a pretty foul mood by the time I left Vicarage Road. Best not to blog, I thought.

On the face it, we put out a reasonably strong team last night, even if we were without three of our first choice strikers. And it was really the non performance of Di Michele and Freddie Sears that meant we never looked likely to score. They were both a huge disappointment, Sears in particular. It is difficult to remember either of them getting anywhere near an on target shot on goal.

I was very impressed by our new goalkeeper. Well, I was until he flapped at the cross which Mullins then steered into the net. The back line was also very shaky against a very nimble Watford attack force. Neill looked good for half an hour and then went to pieces. Evem Upson had some dodgy moments. Walter Lopez, however, was everywhere and I would make him man of the match – if indeed, you could justify having a man of the match. He’s not a particularly tough tackler, and he started off quite nervously, but as the game wore on he got better, although I think it was his handball that led to the cross which led to their goal.

Boa Morte as as useless as ever, although he did actually manage a shot on target. Which was nice.

The highlight of the evening was the Watford directors’ box seats, which were so padded, there was little room left for legroom. Actually the real highlight of the evening was having dinner before the match with Ray Clemence. Naturally I spent the whole meal pushing the case for Robert Green. Unfortunately Clemence was at the West Brom game, where it seems Mr Green had a bit of a nightmare.

Also in the director’s box was one Terry Brown. He sat with Duxbury, Mike Lee etc at the pre match meal and to all intents and purposes looked as if he was still part of the club. It was a bit weird really. I was going to talk to him, but in the end decided discretion was the better part of valour.

However, I did have a chat with a couple of other people and I think you can rest assured they are not taking the Sheffield United thing lying down. I won’t betray private conversations but the language used was fairly robust.

So, the nightmare is coming true. It looks as if we will be fined £30 million over the Sheffield United/Tevez saga. It’s difficult to take in the implications of this. Will the fine have to be paid in one go? Has it been properly budgeted for? Has the lack of transfer activity this year been entirely due to money being put aside, just in case? Certainly, we seem to have had a net balance of about £11 million over the summer.

I’m slightly in shock over this so haven’t quite got into rant and rave mode yet. But give me time.

I’m now about to head down to Watford. I say, down, as I am driving down from Manchester where I have been spending a day at the Labour Party Conference. For the first time in my life I will be sitting in the director’s box (note to self: change out of usual jeans) courtesy of the lead investor in my company, who just happens to own 42% of Watford. Not quite sure of directors’ box etiquette if we score though…

The only negative from today’s game was yet again the awfulness of the pre match announcer. Can you believe that he actually forgot to welcome Gianfranco Zola to the club and allow us to applaud our new hero? Unbelievably crass.

And he keeps playing Bubbles at completely the wrong time. There is an art to whipping up an Upton Park crowd, and this guy, who ever he is, hasn’t got a clue. Jeremy Nicholas lives and breathes West Ham. he is one of us. And he’s an entertainer who can feel the pulse of the crowd.

Bring him back!

Well he didn’t disappoint, did he? Ninety minutes of absolutely pulsating football, a game brimming over with excitement, three great goals, a team performance to savour, two players putting in their best ever performances for the club, a formation which was almost unfathomable, and a position where Lucas Neill looks comfortable. What more could a humble fan ask for?

The first thirty minutes was the best opening half an hour I can remember from a West Ham team. The tempo and fluidity of passing was astonishing. The tackling was first class and Newcastle looked as if they had wondered why they had bothered to turn up. Indeed, there was no period in the game when we really weakened. Although Newcastle found their feet a little more in the second half, especially after the Owen goal, we still didn’t really ever look as if we were under the cosh. And that was due in large part to the efforts of four players in particular – Scott Parker, Julien Faubert, Matt Etherington and Valon Behrami.

Parker was absolutley awesome today. He, Noble and Behrami controlled midfield. I had assumed Behrami would play on the wide right, but he had clearly been told to tuck in next to Parker, so we had a central midfield threesome which dominated the opposition. Faubert was immense at right back and looked completely at home, but as the game went on he got more space and bombed forward. He put in several very dangerous crosses and his tackling was hard.

Behrami got better as the game went on. He is slightly ungainly and awkward, yet his tenacity in chasing the ball often reaped great rewards. The watching Fabio Capello (who seems to have taken up residence at Upton Park) can only have been impressed by Parker. But I suspect he was also making copious notes about Matthew Etherington and Carlton Cole. Etherington was all over the place. For a lot of the game he drifted into the centre leaving the effervescent Di Michele wide left. I lost count of the times Matty ran at their defence and caused havoc. His goal was his just reward for one of his best games.

Carlton Cole also had his best ever game for the Hammers. He didn’t get a goal, but his efforts were worth one. His control was better and his running with the ball had Newcastle reeling on several occasions. He combined well with Di Michele too.

Di Michele. Well, where to start? He’s like a terrier which never gives up. There’s also a touch of the Di Canios about him. He controls the ball well and tackles as if his life depends on it. He took both his goals superbly and made the third for Etherington. What a debut, yet I still wouldn’t give him Man of the Match. That goes to Scott Parker.

I also like the look of Ilunga. He’s a tremendous athlete and very quick for a big guy. His passing was a little astray at times, but he’s better at going forward than McCartney was, and seems solid defensively too. Looks like a good buy.

Anyway, here are the scores on the doors…

Green 7
Neill 7
Upson 7
Ilunga 8
Faubert 9
Parker 9
Noble 7
Etherington 9
Behrami 8
Cole 9
Di Michele 9

Zola can be justifiably proud of himself. I cannot coneive of a performance like this under Alan Curbishley. On the evidence of his first game, Zola has put the flair back into West Ham. We can look forward with confidence, I think.

And I just can’t hide it… No doubt I shall be let down by one of the most boring West Ham performances in living memory, but who cares? I’m looking forward to hearing new Zola related chants, attacking play, lots of goals and an animated manager.

With no Ashton and no Bellamy I’d have thought the front two pick themselves. The more interesting dilemma for Zola is what to do about our right side. As I said a few days ago, I would play Neill in the centre, although it would be unfair on Davenport to drop him. Faubert at right back and Behrami on the right wing will be an interesting experiment. Will he play Boa Morte or Etherington? I imagine Boa Morte will get the nod. For once, I won’t mind, because I think it might just be the spur that he needs to show us what he can do. In fact, I’m going to predict that he will score today.

Roll on 3 o’clock.

So Dean Ashton is out for a month and Craig Bellamy has a groin and a hamstring injury. Unbelievable. So we now only have two fit strikers in Carlton Cole and Freddie Sears. Not exactly a strike force to frighten most Premiership defences, is it? It wouldn’t surprise me if Zola started with Boa Morte up front tomorrow, alongside Cole. Indeed, it may not be such a bad idea. Boa Morte may have a point to prove. No, let’s reword that. He DOES have a point to prove.

I’ve also read that Zola intends to play Lucas Neill alongside Upson in central defence. I think that is a good move. He wants Faubert at right back with Behrami on the wing. Again, I think that’s worth a try.

Can’t wait for 3pm tomorrow!

UPDATE: I have egg dripping from my face, having forgotten that we have a certain David di Michele to choose from too. I’ll just get my coat.