Time to sign off until 2010 and wish all my readers a really happy New Year. If 2009 has been eventful, I suspect it has nothing on 2010. It’s a year I am hugely looking forward to both on a personal and professional basis. One way or another, I think it’s going to be one of the most important of my life. I hope you’ll be joining me on the rollercoaster than undoubtedly lies ahead.

I’m spending the New Year at home. I hate New Year’s parties.

Thanks for your company in 2009. It’s now time to look ahead with optimism and confidence.

And finally, big thanks to S J Chandos for all his hard work on the blog in the latter part of 2010. I know we all appreciate it.

Happy New Year everyone!

Iain

PS And congratulations to Matt Ryan and his wife on their new baby daughter!

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1. West Ham will finish in mid table.
2. The club will be sold to the Intermarket consortium.
3. Matthew Upson will be sold in the transfer window.
4. Carlton Cole will not make the World Cup squad but Scott Parker will.
5. Nani will leave the club.
6. Serious negotiations are commenced with a view to West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium.
7. Lucas Neill will rejoin the club in January.
8. Rob Green leaves the club after the World Cup.
9. Zola spends £15 million on a striker after the World Cup
10. West Ham are in the Top 8 on Christmas Day 2010.

Sky Sports report that the Intermarket Group is to table a £100 million bid for the club on Monday. I will believe it when I see it.

Sky Sports News understands an American consortium are to make a £100 million bid for West Ham United next week.

London-based Inter Market have revealed they intend to lodge a bid for the Premier League strugglers next Monday and plan to provide funds for Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola in January.

New York-born Jim Bowe is the chief executive of the company but several of the investors are believed to be West Ham supporters and are desperate to help the East Londoners out of the relegation battle which they have become embroiled in this season.

Inter Market are said to be keen to seal a deal for the Upton Park outfit as soon as possible so they can give Zola enough time to buy new players during the January transfer window.

It is believed CB Holdings, the company in control of West Ham, are looking favourably at the deal but are in no rush to sell after they rejected a previous bid by former Birmingham City co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan earlier in December.

Outplayed, outclassed, outcommitted. Deservedly beaten. Could anyone seriously disagree? This was a game only one West Ham player turned up for. The only consolation one can draw from it is that we didn’t lose by more. It was that bad. Only James Tomkins can hold his head up and think, yep, I dod OK today. I lost count of the times the commentator said “away by Tomkins”. But apart from him, no one really pulled their weight. Upson looked laclustre, although he didn’t actually do anything wrong. Faubert put in some effort but achieved little. Spector looked dodgy when he came on for Ilunga, although to be fair Lennon didn’t get too much past him.

In midfield Parker went off with a pulled hamstring after ten minutes and we never really recovered. Kovac was back to his very worst. Collison was largely anonymous and Behrami is still feeling his way back. Franco looked dead on his feet for most of the game. It was his most ineffectual game so far for West Ham. I can almost forgive him for being booked and therefore suspended for the Arsenal game as he clearly needs a rest. But that booking means we have no front line strikers available on Sunday, so we have to assume that Frank Nouble will be thrown in at the deep end.

I have to say this. I don’t like Diamanti. I don’t like his attitude and I think he has shown very little in his time with us, apart from an ability to score a penalty and hit a dead ball. Today he disappeared for large parts of the game and towards the end became petulent. He was deservedly booked for hacking at Huddlestone. Players like him need to step up to the plate. Jimenez is just not Premier league class. He did nothing today. Literally nothing. If we can send him back to Italy in the transfer window we should grab the chance.

And Robert Green. England’s Number One? Not on current form. I have been worried about him for some time. Today his kicking was all over the place and his general play wasn’t much better. If he wants to remain in the England squad he had better look to his laurels.

Spurs look a very decent side and this victory propels them into third place. it pains me to say it, but on this showing they deserve to be where they are. And on this showing, we deserve to be where we are.

I fear for what might happen on Sunday. Assuming Ilunga and Parker remain out, and Noble is unfit, we face having a midfield of Behrami, Kovac, Collison, Stanislas, with Nouble playing alongside Diamanti up front and Spector filling in for Ilunga. I reckon that could we the weakest side West Ham have fielded for a good many years.

I feel thoroughly depressed.

Green 5
Ilunga 6
Spector 6
Upson 6
Tomkins 9
Faubert 7
Kovac 4
Jimenez 3
Behrami 6
Collison 5
Diamanti 6
Franco 5

UPDATE: I have just heard Gianfranco say “I am delighted by the performance of the team”. Was he watching a different game to the rest of us? Quite unbelievable. “We played with a passion and a spirit. We created some chances and we looked all right.” He should take off the rose tinted spectacles. Yes, the second half was better than the first, but we didn’t create a single cast iron chance. We looked far from all right. You know me, I am normally an optimistic sort, but there is only one word for this performance and that is ‘depressing’.

Click HERE to rate the West Ham player performances against Spurs

Please use this thread to discuss the match as it progresses.

Team: Green, Ilunga, Faubert, Tomkins, Upson, Parker, Kovac, Behrami, Collison, Diamanti, Franco
Suibs: Stech, Spector, da Costa, Payne, Jimenez, Stanislas, Nouble

We haven’t won away since beating Wolves on them opening day of the season. That’s the bad news. The good news is that we have to win away again sometime, and it might as well be today! I think the team is now beginning to believe in itself again, something which is important if our run of good form is to continue. The Portsmouth game was a vital one in so many different ways. It was a test and the team passed with flying colours. It may not have been the best performance of the season but it was the first time we have gone into a must win game and actually come out on top.

Spurs are a good time, especially going forward, but it is in midfield where we can win the game. Mark Noble is unlikely to feature so he will be replaced either by Jimenez or Behrami, with my bet going on the latter. We need to constantly get at them and that’s a task Behrami performs very well indeed. I don’t expect any further changes. Tomkins and Upson will have got a lot of pleasure out of our first clean sheet in 17 games and if we can keep another one against Spurs the defensive unit will have done very well indeed. And it will underline the importance of keeping Upson in the January transfer window.

There has been much talk on the site about the benefits of switching to a 3-5-2 formation. We haven’t played that since Harry Redknapp was wheelin’ and dealin’ at Upton Park so I doubt very much whether that is likely tomorrow. I can’t see Ilunga as a wing back and Faubert would be stretched to say the least. It is not a formation which would suit Jack Collison, who I really fancy to score against Spurs.

Fingers crossed, lads.

Devo Devo rightly points out that I failed to post the Chelsea player performance results. So here they are…

If you saw the whole of the Portsmouth game please click HERE to rate the performances of the West Ham players.