It looks as though Zola will, for the first time in his managerial reign, be able to put out a full strength side against Liverpool tomorrow (with the exception of Dean Ashton).
Ilunga will return at left back, while Behrami will return to the midfield with Diamanti slotting in to a front three. There is still a doubt over the fitness of Jimenez, mind you. If he can’t play, presumably the ever improving Xavon Hines will keep his place.
Yet again, I can’t get to the game as I have to attend a birthday bash in central London, and I’ll also miss the Fulham game as I will be in Manchester at the Tory Party Conference. I’m like a drug addict who can’t get his fix.
I don’t know about you, but I think a front three of Cole, Diamanti and Jimenez could be quite tasty, although I still think a 4-4-2 formation brings more out of Cole.
Another interesting question is who will make up the midfield three. Noble, Parker, Stanislas, Behrami and Collison will be competing for three slots. It’s a nice problem for Zola to have. My guess is that Noble, Parker and Behrami will win the day, but that means that we are worryingly short or width.
So, this is the team I expect to line up tomorrow. It should at least be more accurate than the team I predicted last week against Wigan!
Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga, Noble, Parker, Behrami, Jimenez, Cole, Diamanti.
I agree – Collison over Noble. I would really like to see an attacking formation out there, with 2 out-and-out strikers. Time for us to stop playing with one striker at home matches methinks – even against Liverpool.
I just love the fact that Faubert is a shoo-in for the first team now, no discussion.
Green, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Illunga, Collison, Parker, Berhami, Diamanti, Hines, Cole
Illunga and Faubert to give us some width with forward runs.
its about time the club released a statemenet about ashton,its getting to be a joke now.i do hope we give the scousers a shock on saturday and a sneaky 1-0 would be nice.ian no dyer? i think zola is very keen on him and not sure behrami will start ? coyi
They did in the Wigan preview mate. He's still building up his personal fitness and no date has been set for his return.
I agree with the Aston comment. Come on West Ham stop the numerous rumours doing the rounds. Come clean with what's up with Ashton and will we ever see him play again? And are England still paying his wages? Or are West Ham still picking up the bill?
Iain, I can’t see Noble starting, he has been poor so far this season, so I go for Collison over Noble, with the only other change being Hines for Jimi, if Jimi is not fully fit.
As for the result, my heart says 1-0, my head says 1-1. Sod it, I 'm going with my heart.
COYI!!!
a good time to play the scousers, bet on the win @ 7-2. easy money. i hope
yeh i can see stanislas being dropped for this game too. But hopefully diamanti will be the player we need, at least with him in the team at the very least he will be a constant threat if we get any set pieces but also from the little i have seen of him he does look capable of drawing players in and creating chances… and if they back off from the look of that shot against wigan i don't think he has any worries about shooting!!!
Illunga back is a must, he is very important, and quite interesting to read about upson and dyer praising him on the west ham website today!!
Does anyone know if franco is able to be on the bench?? I hope he wears that no10 shirt with pride!! This could be a very good game!!
COYI!!!!!
Iaian, Sorry mate back to school for you spelling error on headline
All the best
There's something fishy about this post I don't get! What spelling mistake?
Willtell, When Iain, first put up the article he misspelled STRENGTH
leaving out the R
If you go to the news now page you will see what I mean
Now corrected Lol!
Iaian has corrected that as well
FISHY also mispelt Iain's name, but now we're getting picky!
Muphry's Law always wine (although it could have been deliberate)
Muphry's Law always wins (although it could have been deliberate)
Fishy,
Bottom of the class for you spelling mistake on Iain
Not sure about anyone else, but I have a heightened feeling of excitement and nervousness about this game.
There seems to be so much riding on a good performance after the recent disappointments that I am feeling a tad anxious.
Iain, I'll take your starting line-up right now if only to stop us all guessing how good or bad we might be this season.
We will all know a huge amount more come 7.25 Saturday evening.
Hopefully Zola and Clarkey will post the Gerrard and Kuyt comments about the game on the dressing room wall. Both have been pretty dismissive of us, particularly bar-brawling Gerrard who is predicting a repeat of their easy win at Upton Park last season.
For all reasons, let's hope we put in a performance to be proud of.
I am really pleased with the line up predicted Iain. I would say that this is our strongest lineup as it stands at the moment
Lets hope we can give the scousers a bit of a shock, get at them early and attack from the start. I think Franco will offer more than Tristan did and is apparently good in the air which is something we lack on occasion. I hope Diamanti will start and hopefully give the pool a few problems. WHU – 2, LFC – 1.
We can live in hope surely.
COYI !!!!!!!!!!
What has happened to Dyer?
I agree on Ashton. The club need to make a statement. They have prided themselves recently on communicating to the supporters but on Ashton they have been very quiet.
Apparently Dyer is fit enough to be in the squad tomorrow. Maybe see him on the bench?
Tory Party Conference or Upton Park? No brainer Iain; get yourself to the game!
This is a game that is there for the winning if Zola is brave enough to go for it at the start. I favour a 4 1 2 1 2 formation – almost a like a dimond. Flat back 4, holding midfielder sitting in front, 2 wide men, attacking midfielder and 2 forwards.
As such my team would be:
Green
Illunga, Da Costa, Upson, Faubert
Parker
Stanislas, Diamanti
Jiminez (if fit) or Noble
Cole, Hines
Subs: Kurucz, Tomkins, Spector, Collison, Behrami, Jiminez/Noble, Franco
Liverpool are at their weekest in the full back areas so width is VITAL – Illunga and Diamanti down one side, Faubert and Stan down the other is our best chance of a getting a result.
Anyone fance meeting up before the game to chew the cud, i'l be in the Boleyn – won't be hard to spot – I'll be the one wearing the West Ham top!!!!!
Not sure why you've dropped Tomkins, Jolly?
I think and hope Zola will play 4-4-2 with Behrami on the right, Parker & Collison in the middle and Diamanti left.
The good thing is that we now have many more options with Dyer, Jiminez and Franco vying for places.
As for the result – I fancy the boys to get a 2-1 win. Diamanti and Cole.
No way Noble will get in the side on present form when all are fit.
The return of Behrami & Ilunga is tremendous news and with a few more attacking options, let's hope that GZ does just that -attacks!
We usually get beaten by Liverpool and I would take a draw right now, I think we will lose but will see a much improved performance.
At least with Diamanti's set pieces we can test Liverpool's weakness, zonal marking. If we can do better than Tomka last week when given the opportunity, all is not lost.
I'd like to see us put a man on Stevie GBH….mark him out of the game. He bloody loves scoring against us!
I wouldnt like to see too much of an attacking formation, my team would be:
Green, Illunga, Upson, Tomkins, Faubert, Collison, Parker, Noble, Behrami, Diamonti, Cole
COYI!!!!!!
Assuming all are fit my team would be:
Green
Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Illunga
Parker
Behrami, Collison
Jiminez
Cole, Diamanti
Subs: Kurucz, Da Costa, Noble, Hines, Stanislas
It's a bit early for Franco I reckon. We should start with the more mature setup aimed at getting us through the first half without conceding. That in itself should be seen as an achievement against this lot. Then at the end bring on the young guns in wide positions. Stanislas/Behrami and Hines/Collison or Jiminez. The third sub should be saved for any injuries or fatigue at the end of the game.
Parker job should be to walk Gerrard off the park. Behrami on Kuyt as he will match Kuyt's work rate. Jiminez on Mascherano. Yes, that's right. To win us some free kicks!!
Iain,
I gotta go along with most of the boys on here and go with Collison over Noble, also Hines as a replacement for Jiminez if he is not fit to play …
I actually fancy a 1 – 1 draw with Diamante nailing a set piece for us in front of the Bobby Moore …
And Rafa Ranta have more whinge time on MOTD than the entire match highlights …
At least we shouldn't be the last game to be shown!!! A victory would be all the sweeter, just to see Lawro's face after the highlights.
To be fair Lawro actually predicted a draw!!!! if you can believe that
So good to read others agreeing with my view of the last 2 years – Noble is not good enough. Good passer and finisher but no pace and poor tackler plus physically weak. Team for me would be:
Green,
Faubert (what a change he has had),
Upson,
Tomkins,
Ilunga,
Behrami,
Parker,
Collison,
Stanislas/Jiminez
Diamanti,
Cole,
That still leaves subs of Gabiddon/Da Costa, Dyer, Noble, Hines, Franco, Jiminez/Stanislas + Keeper.
As good a side as we are going to get this season!!!
Come on you irons
If Illunga and Jimenez are fit and Franco eligible then there will be some 1st team pros left out of the squad which suddenly makes us look quite strong. Even with seven on the bench I struggle to get Kovac, Da Costa, Nouble and Spector on the bench. I agree with Iain's line up so my subs would be: Kurucz, Collison, Dyer, Gabiddon, Hines, Franco and Stanislas.
It seem that the general consensus if for Collison to start ahead of Noble, which I agree with. there was a time when Noble was an automatic pick in midfield, but with the emergence of Collison, arrival of Jimenez and the quality of both Parker and Behrami, this is no longer the case.
I feel that Mark will really need to raise his game this season if he is to starting every game. However for West Ham this is a good problem to have and shows our strength in midfield, I hope Zola is brave enough to drop players such as Noble a la Capello. I also Hope that he is Brave enough to attack Liverpool from the start – sitting back is just asking for trouble. I see our best chances coming from set pieces ( presuming Diamanti start ) which is something I haven't thought for a good few seasons!
2-1 to the Irons!
I'd like to see us attack. I know this sounds naive but I can't help feeling if we sit back and try to keep it tight the likes of Gerrard, Torres and Yossi will eventually roll over us. Carragher's slowing down and they are vulnerable on the flanks – let's make a game of it!
4-4-2
cole diamante
behrami noble parker jiminez
Faubert Upson Tomkins Illunga
Green
SIMPLE!!!
LATEST ODDS JUST IN FROM BET HORTERS:
DIAMANTI to make a right-footed pass. 4-1
DIAMANTI to shoot with his right. 8-1
DIAMANTI to score with his right. 20-1
CROWD to go bleedin' mental if he scores with any part of his body (bum included) 10-1 on.
Lump on my friends.
I keep repeating myself I know but…4 4 2 it has to be, Hines And cole up front and lets try diamanti on the left although He might be best suited upfront,ilunga's a strong Left back so he might be able to cope if Diamanti goes missing.
I dont see Behrami as wide player, I think he's a workman like player I would play him in the middle with either dyer jimenez Stanislasor collison playing wide right ,maybe stanislas will come out he's shell and play better on the right.
Glass full,3-2 win to us diamanti late free kick,zola finally sorts it all out!!!!! COYI!!!!
Zola is ambitious but certainly not stupid. he realises that the "PROJECT"
is medium to long term with the current restraints on the club over the past year have not helped, however his vision is not diminished.He took us to top 10 last season just missing out on europe through injuries and suspensions. Given time this is something that GZ wants to & will achieve.
After his first year in charge as manager he now wants to push forward with the team which he has done by strengthening the squad in the last TW and with the backing of the Mteam and fans to get behind him & the team it will now start with at least a point tomorrow against L'pool.
Rome was not built in a day as many of our rivals are trying to do and will find that their foundations are faulty. It is a long time since WH had something to smile about but with a little bit of luck & possible new owners in the not too distant future this I feel will be a good year for the hammers!!!
I think that this game is one of those where the performance is more important that the result. The top teams are very intimidating and what I want to see is West Ham playing well as a team, being confident and adventurous. A victory over Liverpool will be a real feather in the cap, but a gutsy showing and good team awareness will be a confidence boost and help bring the new and returning players together.
A couple of tough games ahead where we will not be favourites but on our day we can take them on, and with the Diamond tugging at the leash we might just surprise the pundits.
I guess tomorrow is a yard stick of how far we have come under Zola. Its a year since he took charge, he has as close to a full team as he is every likely to get at WestHam and we are playing at home against a top 4 team. With all that said I certainly wont be condemming Zola and Clarke if we dont win.
I still think that I would sacrifice flowing, ont touch, pretty football for a result. I think we have to get at Liverpool early. I wont be at the game but hope that our boys raise their voices and turn the place into a furnace. We have truely fantastic fans and we need to prove that in the light of the events at the last home game.
We have tended to conceed the middle of the pitch in recent games and allowed teams an easy foothold in our half which they can build on.
With Behrami back and hopefully starting that should change as with him taking over the tackling duties it means Scotty can sit behind the midfield and push them forward.
If Jimmi is fit I cant wait to see him and Diamanti play together. If it works it could really be something special. I do think we need to target Johnson and with that in mind I think Collison gets the nod over Noble as he is more effective on that left hand side and links particularly well with Ilunga. Not only will focusing on Johnson give us a chance to expose his defensive weakness but it will peg him back in their half and stop him raiding forward and providing dangerous crosses for Torres.
I dont know if Benitez will rest key players, their league form has been less than stellar and WestHam away is certainly not the kind of game you take lightly. If he plays the same team as wednesday night then we need to really push the pace of the game and up the tempo. It is still early in the season and players dont quite have the reserve tanks that they build up after a few months of the season.
One thing is certain, we wont get a whole host of chances and we have to be clinical with what we do get. If we can stop them scoring first then we have a chance to maybe nick a goal on the counter or from a Diamanti free kick.
As always being Hammers fans we remain optimistic!
Keep the Faith!
Celts…may I congratulate you on your discipline and fortitude in offering your honest views and assessment……..and not mentioning Mr unmentionable.
Top class.
Horts I dont want to be accused of carrying a review of someones performance from the last game into an expectation of how they will perform in the next. Therefor I tend to make thursday lunch time as my cut off point!
Off topic, but this is a very well written and accurate article of our team's demise since the 2006 FA cup final….
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/fan…
An excellent article and so so true.
Devo, it's in the Mirror. It's the expected retrospective shoeing.
I know it's in the mrror, Dave, but written by a non-journalist and boy can you tell. I despise the said rag and it's anti-West Ham POV, but the article is a fair summary of what happened at our club.
Devo… Steinberg is a freelance journalist. He clearly also carries a passion for WHU.
Decent article, timely as well, with the local (Midland) news highlighting Reo-Cokers ongoing problems at Villa. Some off them certainly got far to big for their boots.
By the way, thanks for the earlier link to your T-Shirts, very appropriate design for us 40+ brigade.
No probs, SH
Reo-Mediocre doesn't appeared to have learned anything in life.
Not sure about that Devo. He seems to have improved his boxing skills if the local news is to be believed!!! Seriously though, like you I find it hard to relate to these over rated, spoilt kids that masquerade as 'professional' sportsman.
Very fair article I thought – especially given Reo-Coker's antics at Villa today!
I still rate Pardew as a manager, I think in that season he did very well with the players he had, but agree with the writer that he along with the rest believed the hype. For a manager he was young, and you'd like to think he learnt from it. Yet, what's he done since?
As for the cup final – what a game! And Ashton – what a player! Still hope he can get back to what he was like, although it's looking more unlikely.
Devo I very rarely say this about anything published in the mirror but it is a pretty good article.
I have often thought about what would have happened and things might have turned out differently had Stevie GBH not faked an injury and cheated Liverpool to the FA Cup in that game. Well I supposed to be fair he wasnt actually feigning an injury but rather he was afraid that he was about to be injured and therefor acted in self defence by limping around the place and doing his impression of a man who's leg is is being held on by some band aids and a Hail Mary.
I have read previously about people at WestHam, both players and management letting things go to their heads after that game, it seems Pards went out and bought himself a Ferrari (and not the type of one who plays fullback) while the whole team ran off to buy themselves Bentleys.
I have always believed that had we won that game the things that happened in the summer and in the first half of the season would never have occured. Having been robbed by Gerrard and Liverpool the players felt they were justified in soothing the pain of such an ill desereved loss by spoling themselves. They substitued flash cars for FA Cup winners medals. That team was very much a case of the "whole being greater than the sum of its parts". God we played some fantastic stuff that year. I think it was my favourite season as Hammers fan. We swaggered our way through the season playing some incredibly high tempo'd football.
Had we won the FA Cup I think it would have been a case of lets build on this, lets get our heads down, work hard and get ready to progress even further next season. Instead the players started to think that to be taken seriously as Premiership footballers they needed the trappings and lifestyles of Premiership footballers. Rather than using the season as a base to build on some tried to use it as a stepping stone. Too many people, most notably the board, felt they had to capitalise on the season while they could.
That wouldnt have happened if we won the FA Cup, we would have had the whole of next season to enjoy being cup winners. We would have shown the whole team that they could satisfy their footballing ambitions at the club. We would have proved that we could win things without selling our souls to some snake oil sales man like Kia Jorabchin and his dodgy deals.
Would it havs stopped Brown selling the club to line his pockets? Hardly, but he might have done it in a more professional manner and not like some reality TV star desperately trying to cash in on 15minutes of fame before the nation forgets about them.
We may never have had Tevez, the relegation scrap, the great escape, Tevez Gate, The Egg, BG, Curbs, big money signings, even bigger money contracts, sheffield unentitled, the rise, fall and rise of Scott Duxbury, the credit crunch, the money's gone, Nani comes and Curbs goes!
Boy would it have been a lot more boring and we wouldnt have GianFranco Zola!
You know looking back at it all it seems a small price to pay to get Zola as our manager!
Somewhere in a parallel universe, we won that game, McClaren built his team around WestHam and Nigel Reo Coker is cutting the ribbon on the new stand at Upton Park that bears his name! Think Sliding Doors with Alan Pardew in the Gweneth Paltrow role! Bet thats going to give John Hanna nightmares!
I think it's been written by a fan, CH, that's why it's good!
It's a shame we lost the game, becuase the younger fans have never seen us win anything and the older ones of us have been starved of success, after being spoilt from 64-80.
I'm afraid that I cannot relate to many footballers these days – their pay is outrageous and many don't know how to respect the responsibilty that this brings. For all of Curbishley's shortcomings, he rid the club of the culture that threatened the fabric of the club and he should be applauded for that.
For me, the abiding memory of that final is why Scaloni never kicked the ball into row Z?
If only…..
I always felt that losing Hayden Mullins to suspension is what cost us that game. He wouldnt have cared that Gerrard was limping he would have happilykept kicking him till the final whistle went!
Sorry, Celtic, I can't agree. I believe Jacob Steingberg's a fan (name rings a bell, but I've been out of the country for five years if it turns out I should know better), but this is the standard negative codswallop that we always get from the Mirror.
Yes, we lost a cracking final, and it went south from there, but why publish it now, when it looks like things a picking up?
Dave I have seen this type of article pop up before when we have played Liverpool. I enjoyed it as it reminded my of that heady first season and our superb cup campaign. I think that given the amount of negative publicity aimed at our club in recent years that if this was an attempt to make the club look bad then it was a pretty tame one by comparison!
The rest of my post is simply my own feelings about what happened the club since that final.
Steinberg is a freelance journalist. Obviously a fan as well.
Found the article painful.
Pardew tried to waste time and felt obliged to give sheringham a 5 min cameo. The only thing he did was give away f/kick for equaliser!!
Biggest memory poor Harewood unable to walk and unable to come off, then trying to shoot with the good leg he was standing on!!
No matter how many times i watch it, i cant believe we didn't win.
Got to final playing as a team, by next season played as individuals.
The team would of been broken up anyway, as soon as someone flashed the cash even if we were doing well…always happens.
The 3rd in the league team wasn't strengthened in the summer and within about 18 months we had lost both TC and macca.
We are the biggest under achievers in uk football, if you look at the players we have produced…one day it will stop but until that happens we will continue to suffer.
A very good article CH. Creating something like this takes passion and imagination. It is always harder than criticising yet you seem to do that a lot mate. Why waste your passion for West Ham on the stream of angst with CC on this and other forums?
Willtell I guess my passion for WestHam means I demand a lot from those players who are lucky enough to pull on the shirt. Lets hope I am proved wrong today and he stuffs Liverpool and bags a couple of goals to make me look like a complete mug.
Trust me no one will be as happy as me if that happens!
I'm really looking forward to Illunga's return. I think that we will see a real increase in quality throughout the side just by having him back. Remember, he was (arguably) our best player last season!
Good shout Oliver. At the presentation after the final game last year they read out Rob Green was the runner up in Hammer of the year I, as well as most fans sat 'round me, thought Ilunga was nailed on for the top award. I guess the only thing that stopped him getting the gong was that he'd only played half a season.
Yeh – but I wouldn't even with yours mate!
not my type either…much prefer shania twain and the 63 year old cher!!!
I think we will get a draw 1-1 tomorrow. With Diamanti to score.
Great news about Ilunga. I'd go with: –
Green, Behrami, Upson, Tomkins, Ilunga, Stanislas, Parker, Collison, Jiminez, Cole, Diamante.
I agree with Tom. One each tomorrow with Diamante on the scoresheet.
COYI!
Goaty, how can you leave Faubert out when he is arguably ourbest player this season? Even if you suggest Behrami at right back, I would still have Faubert in instead of Stan.
Pretty much to stop them playing Shropshire. Faubert has improved massively but Behrami is tireless – he'll keep going for 90+ minutes whilst Faubert puts it in in short bursts and runs out of steam.
As for Faubert instead of Stan I'm not sure he's as good an option on the left.
Leaving Faubert out shows why it's better to have a manager than a fan picking the team!
Is Ilunga definately fit and available for the game? If not then I think Gabbs will seriously struggle at left back and I would give Deprela his debut at left back, I would rather have a very promising natural left back making his debut than a centre half playing left back.
A quote from zola…..we will try to limit them and then progress and play our football.
Not gonna attack liverpool and go for it from the off then. Looks like gonna play on counter attack…..poss diamond midfield?
Can't say that I am over excited by this quote either. I would rather lose 3-4 playing attacking football, than lose 0-2 trying to defend for our lives and not putting on a show. Come on GZ, keep the faith!!!
I have defended zola since coming on the site and will continue to do so for now. But if were in a right mess come christmas, i will have to think again. We nearly beat them in the cup final, by not being scared of them and attacking them. This stopped them getting in any rhythm. If he is talking to the players about not losing, instead of how to win…it may explain some of the performances. Its no good attacking only when you've gone behind….fortune favours the brave..as they say.
However he may have some tactical plan in place and tomorrow night we will all be saying he's a genius…here's hoping.
A 2-1 win for the hammers…fingers crossed!!!
Tony the more I think about it I just cant believe that Zola reckons we are capable defending for the whole game and nicking one on the break or from a set piece.
The guy simply knows too much about the game to think thats the case. I have not been overly critical of Zola for the tactics at Wigan as losing Collison in the warm up threw his first plan out the window and he didnt have the personnel available to do what he wanted in that game. Add that to some below par performances from big players and that was all she wrote.
I notice the blunts lead has just been pegged back to 3-2 by the owls! If wednesday get the next goal I am definately having that beer!
Yeah – I can't say that Zola's quote enthralled me, but I expected this approach. Give them the initiative and defend like crazy!
I cant see use getting anything from the game if we intend to try and defend for 90mins and scored from a counter attack. We have trouble creating chances at the best of times let alone converting them. Limiting our attacking forrays is hardly likely to create more chances and if we couldnt keep Wigan from scoring over 90mins what chance is there against Liverpool.
I don't think there is any chance of us keeping a clean sheet tomorrow, I was just hoping we might have a go at them and nick a draw!
We will be stronger defensively with Ilunga & Behrami back on board, but you can't defend for 60/70 minutes against the class of Liverpool, not unless you get the sort of luck we got at Anfield last season.
Based on the comments it looks like GZ is going to go 4-5-1 with 3 central midfielders – Parker, Behrami and Jiminez, Diamanti one wing and Collison or Stan the other, Cole up front alone.
We're going to win, boys. Get the beers ready. Uncle Graybo has had a word.
Graybo I'm Irish! The beers are always ready! In fact the were so ready last night that when I woke up this morning the only thing I was ready for was staying in bed! Quiet night tonight me thinks, settle on the sofa, bit of Hammers chat, little bit of Tv and maybe just a beer to take the edge off!
Saving my energy for the victory drinks tomorrow night!
ha-ha … well, CelticH, I've had a day and a half with my computer, so when I finish work in a minute I might just join you with a pint or four
We are generally pretty strong under the lights….
http://theboleyninheritance.wordpress.com/
Castel absolutely class mate! Who says Dicksy never used his brain on the pitch!
Dicksy never used his brain on the pitch….
I am not saying he used his brain for footballing reasons but laying out two blokes while clearing the ball takes some pretty creative thinking!
i think we play better against teams that usually park in the top half rather then the ones who stand i the bottom.so.hmmm, i hope we give the reds a boring tripp back to liverpool. 2-0 to the cockney boys. i wanna see Ilunga 2morrow!!!! COYI!!!!!!
what happend 2 my comment??DOH!
Great those players are back – hope they are fit enough to last!
My 11:
Green
Faubert Upson Tomkins Ilunga
Behrami Parker Collison
Jiminez Diamante
Cole
Excited to see more of Diamante, especially alongside Jimi.
News now…have stories on Ashton from the times and daily mail. zola admits he is concerned. Mail story says we are looking at possible insurance claim?
app his contract worth 15 mill (5 years) and 4 remaining…lot of cash tied up in this.
Suggest guys read them and see what you think?
Sorry posted same time as Fishy.
News now…have stories on Ashton from the times and daily mail. zola admits he is concerned. Mail story says we are looking at possible insurance claim?
app his contract worth 15 mill (5 years) and 4 remaining…lot of cash tied up in this.
Suggest guys read them and see what you think?
Sorry posted same time as Fishy….and aussie graham!!!
Poor old Deano it looks likely it will be an insurance job Zola empathises with Dean but the timeframe could be forever.If it comes to retiring Deano you dont deserve that you gave us a danger up front but at 60 grand a week and wright-phillips breaking the ankle on england duty who pays?You have massive potential and will be sorely missed all Hammers fans everywhere you are a champion!
I think it would be a claim on our insurance.
England have insurance to cover the original injury, but he played again after that for us. Then broke down again in training. Englands should of covered original, but that will have stopped once he was declared fit to play for whu.
I posted about this a couple of weeks ago because the year of not playing was up and was not any nearer playing. Usually a year is when insurers consider calling it a day, especially if the the club have been claiming already to cover wages for a injured player. Probably decision time.
Its sad i thought he was the best striker we had at Upton Park in years.
aussie, I assume it will be England that we will go to for the insurance money as he was on Eduty when the accident happened.
An expensive call for Dean
Sorry posted posted exactly same time as you and fishy.
LAST ORDERS for ASHTON???
According to tonights acticle in the Times
it is looking likely that we will be calling time on Dean Ashton and are now exploring the insurance avenue. Although he has been training with former physio John Green & 2 ops Ashton appears no nearer returning to the playing field. Having first broken his ankle in training with England in 2006 under Mclaren and with a further medial ligament injury to complicate it is now looking bleak for the player. With 4yrs still remaining on a 5yr contract and worth approx £12mil WH are ready to call it a day.
It is very sad for Dean and for the club if these stories are true. He is one of the most talented and technically gifted centre forwards of his generation.
When we think how well we did last year you cant help but wonder how much higher we could have finished with a fit DeanAshton in the team.
I really hope these stories turn out to be wrong.
Sorry mate posted at the same time as you.
Sad though it is, I would be pleased to see this matter resolved. Many of us have felt for a very long time that Deano would not kick a ball again in anger for us and the lack of clear information emanating from the club has been a huge frustration and something of a distraction in terms of the long held belief that things would be rosy once he returned.
Now tat we have other options, if we are able to at least partially recover some of our losses, so much the better.
Whatever happens, I am sure we all wish nothing but the best for Deano.
According to the BBC this was a typical piece of Journalistic of 2+2=5. Zola says he hasn't discussed Ashton retiring. Same old same old…
Willtell…The story speculating on the end for Ashton is in the Times, Guardian, Sky Sports, Daily Mail and the Express. Feel free to take comfort from the BBC who take their information from the Press Association who are not allowed to speculate on stories.
Read Zola's comments and you will agree things look bleak.
time to say goodbye to Ashton i think
88…Me thinks you're right.
Well since he has kicked a ball for a total of two seasons I'm not surprised.
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Well since he hasn't kicked a ball for a total of two seasons I'm not surprised.
<a linkindex="506" href="http://theboleyninheritance.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">http://theboleyninheritance.wordpress.com/
Well since he hasn't kicked a ball for a total of two seasons I'm not surprised.
http://theboleyninheritance.wordpress.com/