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

Tony Cottee: Excuses must stop now

February will make or break our season

Ticket prices: Should the fans make a stand?

Jussi V Adrian: Who is our best ‘keeper?

Exclusive interview: Ladies’ captain quits

& much more

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The January transfer window has, thankfully, now closedand yet again I wasn’t surprised to see some PremierLeague players handing in a late transfer request in a bid toforce a move and jump ship.

This always re-ignites the debate about whether or notfans should expect footballers to remain loyal to theiremployers but, really, fans should stop worrying about it. The days where football was graced with the likes ofBobby Moore, Billy Bonds and Matthew Le Tissier are nomore, and there is only one person to blame. Bosman.

Loyalty in football hasn’t completely gone but it’s verylimited today. There are players at West Ham, like MarkNoble, who will walk over broken glass for the club butequally there are other players in the past who wouldn’twalk two yards for it.

The thing to remember is that players, managers andeven owners will come and go but generation aftergeneration of fans will continue to support the same cluband that is why every football club truly belongs to the fans.

We shouldn’t focus too much on player loyalty. We haveto, as fans, just live for the moment because football haschanged. Footballers are no different to us in wanting tosecure their financial situation for the rest of their lives andat the end of the day, which footballers do you admiremore: the loyal or the successful? Enjoy the game!

EDITOR: David BlackmoreNEWS EDITOR: Alex ShillingCONTRIBUTORS: David Bowden,Toby Fry, Geoff Hillyer, TimHolland, Andrew Hosie, ThomasJohnson, Peter Mortimer, KevinPaul, Julian Shea, Hugh Southon,Simon Whitehead, LucyWoolford

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES:EMAIL: editor@blowing-bubbles.co.uk

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WHERE YOU CAN READ IT:Blowing Bubbles is available tobuy prior to each home gameand is also available to read onyour PC, Mac, Tablet or Mobile.For more information visitwww.blowing-bubbles.co.uk.

TO CONTACT BLOWINGBUBBLES:Email: editor@blowing-bubbles.co.uk

Blowing Bubbles is published by BarkingDog Media. Blowing Bubbles is acompletely independent publication. Theviews expressed within Blowing Bubblesare not necessarily those of the publishers.Opinions expressed by companies andindividuals appearing within the magazineare not that of Blowing Bubbles or thepublisher. The publisher accepts no liabilityfrom any action raised in response to anysuch opinions. Readers are stronglyadvised that although we take every careto ensure prices and content, etc, are upto date. It is the responsibility to check withthe advertiser before purchasing ortravelling to view products.No reproduction, either in part or wholeof the magazine is allowed unless writtenconsent is obtained from the publisher.The publisher accepts no responsibility forany actions arising from articles orfeatures or advertisements within thismagazine. Readers are advised to pay bycredit card when ordering goods as theseare regulated under the Consumer Act1974. Debit and charge cards are not.

(c) Blowing BubblesDavid BlackmoreEditor

Here’s the good news: TonyCottee has little doubt theHammers will get out of theircurrent problems.

Here’s the not so goodnews: the owners need tospend a small fortune on theclub at grassroots level if weare ever going to move to thenext level.

Tony Cottee, in a nopunches pulled interview, saidhe believes once we get AndyCarroll up to speed andWinston Reid back, we’re abetter team than most of thesquads involved in therelegation battle. But hesnapped: “The excuses haveto stop soon and the points

have to be collected. Februaryis absolutely crucial when wehave Swansea, Norwich andSouthampton at home andAston Villa away – utterlycrucial. If we can come out ofthose games with eight ornine points, as we should, Ithink we can get out of itbecause we have a bettersquad than the othersaround us.”

If he’s putting a brave faceon things he’s doingparticularly well because hedoes seriously soundconvinced all will be well.

He said: “Already you cansee that Andy is worryingdefences. They back off him

because in full flight he’s ascary proposition and he’sbarely match fit at themoment. As he gains morematch fitness he’ll befearsome. And in Winston wehave one of the bestdefenders in the Premiership.He’s not far away and willmake a huge difference whenhe returns. He’ll organise theback four and there will be abig difference.

“At the moment you haveabout 11 teams involved inthe relegation battle and theyare all much of a muchnessbut we will have our good littlerun – every team does andthings will look a lot different.

Hugh Southon

Interview withTony Cottee

James Tomkins and KevinNolan are available again aswell and although some wouldargue we haven’t been agreat team all season, Ibelieve that can change asthe battle hots up.

“I do genuinely believe thatthings will look up and we’ll getout of it – honestly!”

Long term however, Tonybelieves there has to be bigchanges at the club and thatwe need to re-organise atgrass roots level.

He said: “We have atraining ground we were usingwhen Mooro and the ladswere around. The onlydifference is that it has a fewtemporary buildings on it now.Look at this Lacina Traoresituation: A player comes overfrom France takes a look andsees, for example, what’savailable at Everton – whereis he going to go…wherewould you go? Everton!Having said all that it doeslook as though we have beenwitnessing the dark side offootball doesn’t it.

“Investment is needed atthat level, academy level andeverywhere else. If we aregoing to stop our club’sconstant yo-yoing betweendivisions we need to get thefoundations of our club right.

“We are trying to put theroof on before the foundationsare in place and that can’thappen. We have to push onin a logical and progressivemanner. It’s the only way.”

For more articles from Hugh Southon visit claretandhugh.co.ukYou can also follow him on Twitter @HughSouthon

Following West Ham’s 3-0defeat at home toManchester City in the secondleg of the Capital One Cup,there was a lot of talk aboutthe price of tickets for whatwas deemed a “pointless”match. As you may alreadyknow, I bought my ticket tothat match as soon as theywent on sale, before the firstleg.

So on the long journey backto Manchester after theUpton Park leg, we werelistening to TalkSport.

They kept (and I emphasisekept) repeating that thetickets for that match were£42. There were a few price

bands, I believe, some seasonticket holder got in for around£30 and kids were let in for aquid.

For the whole of the show, itdidn’t matter what West Hamfans rang in to say, all thepresenters wanted to talkabout was the ticket prices.

They also didn’t seem tograsp the fact that due to therules of the competition andthe financial implications forMan City, we couldn’t just leteveryone in for free.

This started to grate on mea bit. I have always been of theopinion that when making aticket purchase, fans aremaking their own decision to

part with their hard earnedcash. We’re not completelystupid, we kind of know thatwe’re not going to getBarcelona’s style of play orRooney-esque goals of theseason. But we still put in ourcard details to buy the ticketbecause we love West Ham,faults and all.

I really don't like complainingabout paying £40+ for aticket, whether it be in theleague or a cup. My argumentis if you don’t want to pay it,then don’t.

You wouldn’t go shoppingand stare at a pair of trainers(or a handbag, ladies) andthink: “No, I can’t afford £70

Lucy Woolford

A fool and his money are soon parted

and they’re not really worththat, but I think I’ll buy themanyway.”

If you did still buy them, it’sbecause you had some kind ofaffection towards them, andyou shouldn't complain aboutpaying that money for them.

From a business point ofview there isn’t really muchreason to lower the price offootball tickets.

The League Cup matchaside, the Boleyn Ground ispacking in a decent crowdweek in, week out, and even didback in the Championshipyears.

As a businessman, whywould you even consider thatlowering your prices is anecessary move?

They say that the bestaction is to vote with your feet.I’m not suggesting that thosewho don’t like the ticket pricesall boycott games, but I dobelieve that calling in radiostations and having a whingeon the concourses isn’t goingto make a difference.

The only way to hit footballclub owners is in the pocket.

Having said all this, I do haveto agree that prices areridiculous these days,especially in London.

I see the argument thatseason ticket holders andregular attendees have.

They pay shocking prices toquite often watch shockingfootball. It’s not fair.

Players get an unreal sum ofmoney to play sometimes poor

football, and effectively fansfeel as if they’re paying theirwages for the supposedprivilege of watching themplay. I agree, that’s not on.

There is also the thoughtthat the costs are excludingfamilies from enjoying aSaturday at a football match.

This is not exclusive to WestHam, this is true for a lot ofclubs, particularly the “big”clubs and London based ones.

I think West Ham have got itquite right with their ‘Kids for aQuid’ scheme and as an ex-season ticket holder, I alwaysused to see the difference thatthis made to families.

There are also advantagesto being a Club Member -there are at least two halfprice matches every season,which does help if you want tojust get to Upton Park acouple of times a season to

make the most of the stadiumwhile it is still home. While I doaccept that the subject ofticket prices was going tocome up after losing a first leg6-0 and still charging £40+for the privilege to watch thesecond leg in the flesh, I hearda lot of people ring in to thepost match phone-in who werein the same boat as me,saying that we bought thosetickets before the first half - itdidn’t really matter whathappened, we were going tobe at the return leg as fans.

It was a lot of money to forkout, but my personalargument was never that itwas too costly. I would haveliked a free hat or somethingthough.

Follow me on Twitter@lucy_whufc

Motivational tactics come inmany different forms.

For some it is a quotation,for others a picture. For rockband Queens of the StoneAge, it is a shared tattoo –one from which West Hamcould learn something.

Somewhere on theirbodies, all band membershave ‘Freitag 4.15’ – areminder of theirperformance at 4.15pm ona Friday at the 2001 RockAm Ring Festival inGermany.

Why? Because theyagreed it was their worstever, and they wanted tomake sure they never forgottheir lowest ebb.

For West Ham’s players,it should read Wednesday

7.45 – Wednesday January8th, to be precise, when theyrolled over and died at theEtihad Stadium in theirCapital One Cup semi-finalfirst leg, making Tuesday’sreturn fixture at the BoleynGround such an irrelevancethat it is astonishing 14,390people turned up to watch.

The one positive to comefrom that second leg, apartfrom the absence of anymore injuries, was that byonly losing 3-0 West Hamavoided the utter ignominy ofa double figures aggregatedefeat.

But the scarcity of evengallows humour from WestHam fans on social mediaduring the game told its owntale – what’s been going on is

actually past a joke. Please,please show us some prideand some fight.

The win at Cardiff was aflicker of hope, but the way amakeshift defence was tornapart by Newcastle in thefollowing game proved therewill be no miracle totransform this season.

It will be a desperate, uglyscrabble to the end.

The irrelevance of thesecond leg against City wassummed up by the fact thatBBC Five Live relegatedcoverage of it to Five LiveSports Extra, rather than themain channel, and instead ofone of the usual footballcommentators, JonathanOverend – a man moreusually associated with

Julian Shea

How Queensof the StoneAge couldteach WestHam aboutmotivation

tennis, and presumably withextensive experience ofwatching dead rubbers fromhis Davis Cup days – was atthe mic.

What happened at theEtihad meant what couldhave been a night to savourwas meaningless; the radioaudience weren’t interestedin it and, as the attendanceproved, neither were manyfans.

That’s a reaction to whatwe’ve had to endure thisseason, and that thoughtshould stick in the throats ofthe players.

With 16 games of theseason remaining, and theteam third from bottom,West Ham’s biggest rope totry to clutch is howcompetitive it is at the foot ofthe table. With four pointscovering eight teams,climbing out – or gettingsucked in – only takes acouple of results.

Recovery, and salvagingsomething from the season,is still possible, especially ifthe team can rememberWednesday 7.45, and use itssting to propel them intoaction.

The sooner that happens,the better, because the finalgame of the season onSunday May 11 is… away atManchester City.

And if Wednesday 7.45cannot inspire them, then thewords Sunday 3pm, again atthe Etihad, could end up beingcarved into the tombstone ofWest Ham’s Premier Leaguestay.

Like all West Ham Unitedsupporters, I feel frustrated,demoralised, hurt anddefinitely ”deluded” by the verypoor fayre that is beingserved up to us at themoment.

Indeed, I think that if theclub was a restaurant, itwould have been closed downat Christmas. As much as ithurts me to say it, I will beabsolutely gobsmacked if MrAllardyce can turn thisdebacle of a season aroundto avoid relegation.

And I certainly would turnhis own pet word “deluded”back on him if he really isunder the assumption that

players such as RogerJohnson are going to comeanywhere near the requiredquality of the Championship,let alone the Premier League.

To be honest, it’s anembarrassment for theplayer. I’ve seen milk turnquicker. But please, who onearth sanctioned the deal?

While on the subject oftransfers, why can we notsecure any of the players thatwe allegedly track? Ninety percent of the players that weare linked with go elsewhereat the twelfth hour. I couldn’tbelieve my eyes when I saw aclub like Hull City ‘stroll’ in andsecure the services of two

Premier League strikers inthe shape of Shane Longfrom West Brom and NikicaJelavic from Everton. Surelyquestions need answeringhere, as this transfer windowhas been a repeat of thesummer of 2013.

After receiving your openletter of January 6, I’d guessyou are both feeling asdownhearted as me aboutthe situation we findourselves in yet again. And I,for one, have always been abig believer in the currentregime.

A regime that are going tolead our club into a new era; anew era that every Hammer

West Ham World: Kevin Paul

A message toGold & Sullivan

out there can be loud andproud about.

Sadly, it feels like I’ve beensucked in yet again. Not beinggiven the whole story maybe?As a fan who has beenturning up since 1967, and Imay be naive, but surely Ideserve the whole story.

On the subject of honesty,you mentioned in your letterthat Mr Allardyce had nochoice but to put the kids outat Nottingham Forest.Absolutely fine, I’ve got noproblem with that. In postmatch interviews he informed“the deluded ones” that hepicked the team he wanted,had previously informed thechairmen, that he was playingthe kids. I wish the ticket officehad told me that when I paidfor two Forest away tickets,and then put £80.00 worth ofpetrol in the car. Thank Godmy son doesn’t like burgers ordrink beer!

I actually became a proudseason ticket holder in 1982.A standing season ticket inthe East Lower tier cost methe princely sum of £63.00.My uncle took me to my firstgame, as I said, in 1967. Soyes, I’ve seen more managersthan most.

The sad thing is, I’ve neverseen the people around me inthe ground so subdued andcan’t be bothered as I dotoday. It really is sad to see.Mr Allardyce is killing thepassion of our glorious fans,as well as our club.

The thing I am at a loss tounderstand is how both ofyou, will not recognise it.

Surely you would have beenas upset as me at the horrorshow against Newcastle,watching a talent such asRavel Morrison watch the ballpass overhead, alongside the16.20 to Stuttgart?

The last time this situationarose was, as you well know,the Avram Grant tenure.

I do seem to remember itbeing documented that theboard, as a whole, put theirhands up and said: “we madea big mistake, and it will neverhappen again.” Are you still asconfident?

I actually believe that thefootball we are dishing up atpresent is, by far and away,worse than Mr Grant had usplaying, and unquestionably

worse than Gianfranco Zolahad us playing.

I have made a consciousdecision this weekend, and Ican’t say honestly that I’llstand by it. I’ve told my sonBobby that I’m not attendingany more games, home oraway, until Allardyce eitherleaves the football club orgives the deluded fans someentertainment.

Let’s be honest, we aregetting beaten every weekplaying his way anyway. It wasmuch more entertaininggetting beat the deluded way.

It will hurt like mad, but I ammaking the pledge now that Ifmy beloved club are dishingup the same rubbish until theend of this season, there willbe two decent seats availablein the East Lower nextseason. Any deluded takers?

For more articles like this visit WestHamWorld.co.uk. You canalso follow the team on Twitter @WestHamWorld

It's been a disastrous fewmonths for West HamUnited. Even our co-chairman,David Gold, has admitted onTwitter that we were at “a lowpoint” in our history and thatwe face a “tough battle” tostay in the Premier League.

There's no doubt that ourgame against Swansea isenormously important, andit's crucial that we don't getbeaten. However, as I pointedout in the last edition ofBlowing Bubbles, there's stilltime to go, and a look at thebottom of the PremierLeague table shows howclose things actually are.

So what does February holdfor us? It's obvious that thisset of games will define therest of our season. If our formover recent matches

continues through the next fewfixtures then we might as wellstart planning for life in theChampionship again now.

We face a number of gamesagainst teams not too far awayfrom our league position in thenext few weeks and so weneed to pick up points againstthem, and stop them fromgetting away from us. Afterour game against Swansea,we face an away trip to AstonVilla. They might lookreasonably comfortable in mid-table but I have a strongsuspicion that they will benervously looking over theirshoulders, hovering only ahandful of points above therelegation zone.

Their form has been a bitshaky of late, with only one winin eight (coming at

Sunderland) and they also hada catastrophic December,claiming only one point from15. They are also massivelyinconsistent. On this basis, it'sa winnable fixture – but we'vesaid that about us quite a fewtimes over the last fewmatches.

One thing's for sure, itshould be an interestingcontest, and you would hopethat with some of our injuredplayers returning we mighthave enough in the team tosecure a point at least. Therethen follow two home matchesin succession, starting with ahugely important gameagainst Norwich City. They'rein a similar position to AstonVilla in the table, and after apoor run of form the nativeshave been extremely restless

Geoff Hillyer

Februarywill makeor breakour season

about the manager ChrisHughton. Recent, morepositive results have silencedthe naysayers – for now.

This is a match that weneed to win, because Norwichcould quickly get away from usand a positive result for uswould drag them back into themire. We did have a goodresult at home against themlast season and a repeat ofthat 2-1 victory would beextremely welcome again.Well, any sort of victory would,to be honest.

Finally, there's a homematch against high-flyingSouthampton. They're likely tosurvive comfortably, havinghad a great start to theseason – although the wheelshave somewhat come off oflate, with only two wins fromthe last ten. It's difficult topredict the outcome of thisone because it largely dependson which West Ham teamturns up. If it's the abject onethat arrived for the first halfagainst Newcastle, we canforget it. But play to ourpotential – and actuallyconvert chances – and we dohave enough to win this one.

In short, February is going tobe a key month. With nomatches against the so-calledbig boys, and games againstteams near-enough to us inthe table, wins will be crucial inorder to go some way tosafeguarding our PremierLeague status for anotherseason. Fail to perform,however, and things will lookparticularly bleak.

Follow me on Twitter@geoffhillyer

West Ham Ladies captainBecky Merritt has followedgoalkeeper Toni-Anne Waynein quitting the club to joinWomen’s Super Leaguehopefuls Brighton and HoveAlbion.

The 27-year-old, who joinedthe Hammers in 2009, hadbeen made captain followingthe arrival of MarkSaunderson as Ladiesmanager in the summer. Butin an exclusive interview withBlowing Bubbles, the forwardadmitted the move to theSouth Coast side – onstandby to join the Women’sSuper League (WSL) - wasone she couldn’t turn down.

“I am extremely sad to beleaving the club becauseultimately I am a West Hamfan and it was such a greatfeeling pulling on that shirtevery week,” she said. “Beingcaptain ensured the decisionwas even more difficultbecause I would never wantto let down the players,management or the club. Ihave invested so much timeand effort behind the scenesin recent years to try andhelp take the club forwardand this just reinforced mylove for the Hammers.”

Becky, whose only goal ofthe season came at homeagainst Chesham United in

the league in December, saidthe decision to quit wasn’tone she took lightly.

“I can honestly say this hasbeen the hardest decision inmy football career,” shecontinued. “Ultimately I hadtwo choices; stay where I wasor move to face a newchallenge. The offer fromBrighton was too good toturn down. The club has anamazing vision so it is excitingto be a part of this ambition.Due to the nature of theapproach, coupled with thefact that Brighton are keen tostrengthen ready forpotential WSL status, mydecision had to be made

West Ham Ladies

Captain quitsHammers forBrighton

within a certain time frame. Iutilised every possible day tomake the decision because Iwas so torn. But havingexperienced my first fewtraining sessions as aBrighton player, I do feel asthough I have the buzz backagain, and therefore from apersonal perspective, havemade the right decision.”

The former Crystal Palaceand Gravesend & Northfleetplayer announced herdecision to the squad at theend of last month.

“Everyone has beensupportive of the move, fromthe players right through tothe management and eventhe fans,” Becky explained.“Everyone seems tounderstand the opportunity isa good one, especially withthe WSL expansion, and havewished me lots of luck in mynew challenge. I have madesome great friendsthroughout my West Hamjourney and hope to remain incontact with them.

“I personally contactedplayers, staff and supportersindividually to explain mydecision because as captain Ifelt I owed them all anexplanation and I wanted towish each and every one ofthem luck for the remainingseason.”

The West Ham Ladies haveendured a difficult season sofar and currently sit fourthfrom bottom in the FAWomen’s Premier League

South. Becky continued: “Theseason has been a tough oneas West Ham Ladies are ateam very much in transition.There have been moments offrustration but also momentsof sheer joy. The club hasmassive potential with a mixof experience and youthwithin the ranks.

“The club was obviouslydisappointed in not gainingWSL status and this makesfor a nervous time for mostmanagers within the league,as the bigger clubs look totake their pick of players.

“With this in mind I have nodoubt that the Ladies willsurvive the hardships andcontinue to be a success inthe women's game.

“The weather is proving tobe disruptive but I know thatonce the girls have a run ofgames they will surprise afew teams. You cannotunderestimate the passionand belief of some of theseplayers, combined with theexperience of others andtherefore may become thedark horse. I sincerely hopethat the club continues togrow into a sustainable andsuccessful club. Hopefullythey will be considered in thenext WSL applications andcan really kick on. The clubhas some amazing peopleworking behind the scenes,and in women's football,these people are gold dust.”

Reflecting on her time atthe club, she added: “There

have been so many highlightsduring my four years here.

“Being a fan, pulling theshirt on every week was animmense feeling and thatpassion was transferred intomy game. Scoring a hat-trickon my full debut againstFulham was pretty special, aswas my goal in the CountyCup final. But theoverwhelming highlight has tobe the captaincy. There aren'tenough words to explain mypride at that appointment. Myonly disappointment is notwinning any silverware inclaret and blue.”

Becky is, however,“extremely excited” byBrighton’s ambitions as aclub. She concluded: “In myfirst conversation with theclub's officials it was clear tosee they were goingsomewhere. There is a realintent in their actions andbeliefs, and this inevitablytransfers to the players whodemand such high standardsthemselves. The opportunityto play in the WSL was anobvious attraction but thereal swaying point was theknowledge and expertise ofthe staff, I realisedimmediately that I will onlyimprove as a player and thestaff can help add longevity tomy career.”

Blowing Bubbles wouldlike to thank Becky for heramazing efforts in helpingus build our excellentrelationship with the Ladies.

I’d love to be able to have hadthe chance to rustle up aquick article for this magazineon Saturday morning, beingup to date with all thedealings in the transferwindow and knowing theexact information when itcomes to our injury situationas we go into the mostcrucial set of fixtures for theseason.

Alas, of course, that’simpossible as deadlines haveto be set to ensure thisarrives in your email inbox orthrough your letterbox orhowever you choose to readit on time ahead of eachhome game. What I do know

is that we’ve recruited amidfielder and an attackerfrom Serie A.

I am aware we have uppedour bid for McCormack andthat the higher echelons atWest Ham are nervousabout this deal.

Is that just idle gossip andspeculation or has the dealnow become a reality? Havewe signed more than threeplayers?

Depending on when youread this, the transferwindow is fast approachingbeing shut or is done anddusted and we’ll know howour squad is shaped for therest of the season.

Now what I do know is thatby the time you read this wewill have played Chelsea andmost likely lost. This meanswe are still languishing in therelegation zone with only 15matches remaining.

So February will define ourseason. It’s as simple as that.

Every excuse under the sunhas been used to explain whywe are in this positionprimarily, though, thehorrendous injury list is theone trotted out most often.Every year we have anextensive injury list at somepoint in the season - so muchso that Alan Curbishleydefinitely thought there was

Andrew Hosie: Tales from the Sandpit

Four weeks to save our season

an issue with our trainingground and made thatremark when him andAllardyce chatted at theFulham game recently.

It’s hard to remember aseason when we were notstruck down by injuries thatdid affect our ability to put outa strong team.

You could probably write awhole host of essays on thesubject and not get to thetrue cause of the issue butsurely Curbishley must bespeaking some kind of senseand maybe Andy Rolls knowssomething we don’t.

The point is we all know theinjuries have been bad - thatcase is not being argued - butthe flaw in the argument isthat our form has been fairlyawful all season, minimalinjury list or full-on hospitalward.

Let’s face it, going back toAugust and the matcheswere not exactly a barrel oflaughs and I did wonder ifpoints routinely thrown awayat the start of the seasonwould come back to haunt us.Now I fear they just might.

So it’s time to put it right.With the injuries clearing upat a rapid rate of knots, withfresh blood in the team andCarroll getting up to fullmatch fitness, there is nownowhere to hide – neither forthe manager or the team. On paper we look strongand a full-strength team

should be able to pick up afair few points throughoutFebruary to ease thepressure significantly andbring back some muchneeded confidence.

This weekend we areplaying a team that has slowlybeen dropping down theleague table, a side that hasremarkably picked up lesswins than us in the previous10 matches up to themidweek games.

Three points from thisgame is essential. Anythingless than that and therelegation bell will be ringingever louder come Saturdayevening.

It’s then away to AstonVilla, a side who battled wellthe last time I saw them playagainst Liverpool andpreviously they rallied againstArsenal after they snatched agoal back.

It will be difficult but a drawis achievable and three pointsis certainly not out of thequestion.

Another midweek matchfollows at home to Norwich –it goes without saying threepoints is the only possibleoutcome.

We finish off the monthwith another home tie againstSouthampton.

How we’d love a repeat oflast year’s result, probablynot going to happen, but a winis within our graspconsidering Southampton are

not on a particularly good runthemselves at the momentwith only two wins in the last10 up to the midweekmatches.

We need to aim for 10points out of 12 for February.It’s a task that’s difficult butcertainly not out of thequestion.

It’s a struggle we’ve forcedupon ourselves for a myriadof different reasons not justbecause of the injuries but ifwe fail to reach at least sevenpoints for February then itreally will be difficult forAllardyce to justify his positionat the helm of the club.

We also have to lookfurther afield at what lurks inthe deep recesses of the endof the season.

On the final day bothSunderland and Cardiff havehome ties, Fulham andCrystal Palace are taking oneach other and we’re facing alittle trip to the Etihad.

Imagine needing to comeaway from there with threepoints to save ourPremiership place.

Of course it could be toolate by then and the destiny ofWest Ham would lurch intounknown territory once again.

That scenario needs to beavoided at all costs. We needto sort it out starting now.

Follow me on Twitter@hosiemon

This 2013/14 season hasbeen magnificently tight,granted not great for WestHam, but throughout theleague it is exciting from thetitle chasers to the 10 teamswithin six points from mid-table to bottom of the pile.

Following a successful2012/13 season therewere high expectationsamongst Hammers fans, yetreality has a cruel bite andwith injuries all over the parkwe find the team strugglingat the bottom. But it isn’tpanic stations just yet,because of how close theleague is, all it takes is a runof games picking up points

and soon enough West Hamwill clamber up the league.

Of course this is easiersaid than done and many ofour performances thisseason have been dire. Butthere is a run of winnablematches in February thatcould be key to our survivalor relegation.

With key players like Reidand Carroll returning to theteam the fight for survivalcan only get stronger, andBig Sam needs to return tothe simplicity of football, andget us back to being hard tobeat as we were last season.It may not be pretty and itmight bring some dull 0-0

games but if it pulls WestHam out of the relegationmire then it could definitely beworth it.

A win or two and the tablewill start to look verydifferent, it is possibly theclosest season in thePremier League era, andwould only take the mostexperience bookie or luckyguess to correctly predict thefinal standings come May.

Sacking a manager isalways one of the firstreactions to a bad situation,and in the footballing worldthis has become all toocommon. Is it right to sackthe manager during the

Thomas Johnson

Too tight to call

season? I’d say the best timeis around June so the newgaffer can get to know theplayers. This is myrecommendation to DavidGold and David Sullivan, thetime is right to stick with Sambecause he has theexperience to get us out ofthe current situation butcome the end of the season achange of flavour might be onthe cards.

Gold has said this is a “lowpoint” in our history but Iwould say it is a lot morepositive than the 2010-11season under Avram Grantthat led to inevitablerelegation.

At that moment in timethere were fans calling forsomeone of Allardyce’s styleto come in and rescue thesinking ship.

Whilst it is tough to watchsome of the recentperformances, outclassed byMan City and the kids to theslaughter at NottinghamForest, those are gone andthe club must put every effortinto staying up.

The chances are good asthe Premier League keepsitself too tight to call, as longas the fans are behind theteam and Big Sam canmastermind a run of wins,this season can still besalvaged.

Follow me on Twitter@soundofvinyl

How do you rate Swansea’sseason so far?

It’s been tough and weknew it would be. With theEuropa League qualifying it’sbeen a long season andwe’ve played more gamesthan most which never helps.Most recently we’ve been onwinless run going back toDecember and I think that isreally starting to affect theplayers’ confidence. Hopefullywe can address that soon.

As you say you’veexperienced quite the dip inform. What do you think thereason is for that?

Like you, we’re strugglingwith injuries, Michu, Canas,Shelvey, De Guzman,Hernandez and Vorm are allout and with the squad theway it is, we’re looking a bitthread bare. Hopefully mostof them will be back by midFebruary but you just hope

we’re not pulled into therelegation fight by then.

Do you think Laudrup will bebusy in the transferwindow?

We need a couple morebodies even with someplayers returning in February.We’ve been linked to AnthonyPilkington from Norwich Citywhich would be a goodsigning.

Opposition View: Swansea

Tim Hollandspeaks to SimonWhitehead aboutit being a longseason for theSwans, Carroll thebeast and Big Samnot being amodern manager

What have you made ofWilfried Bony’s first seasonat the club?

There’s always a worrywhen you sign a player for alot of money – was thescouting good, how will headjust to the team and to theleague? I think he’s donereally well; he’s scored someimportant goals for us andhas taken the burden offother players in the team.

Although Michu was calledup to the Spain nationalteam, his form has dipped.Why do you think that is?

He hasn’t played since midDecember so that might bethe reason! With only acouple of goals this season Ithink it might be right to sayhe’s struggling with theweight of expectation. I hopefor the club’s sake that hecomes back all guns blazing!

How is your journey in theEuropa League treating youthis season?

I know a lot of people haveenjoyed the run in Europe andit has been fun but there wasa part of me that didn’t wantto make it into the knockoutstages. I think I’m getting oldand cautious but I think weneed to consolidate ourleague position. It’s ok for thebigger clubs but I think it’sbeen a bit of a distraction. I’ll

probably be singing adifferent tune if we beatNapoli though!

Has the rivalry with Cardiffnow intensified now you’reboth in the Premier League?

I can’t admit to being sadseeing them bottom of thetable and I wouldn’t shed atear if they were relegatedand went back to where theybelong.

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

Although the team hasn’tbeen playing well recently,Bony has so I’d keep an eyeout for him. If Michu is back

then he always makes himselfa threat in his role.

What’s been your opinion ofWest Ham this season?

I’m surprised you’restruggling to be honest.You’ve had it hard withinjuries but the biggest issueis Allardyce for me. He’s notthe epitome of a modernmanager is he?

What’s your prediction forthe match and for theseason?

I’ll go for 1-1. I thinkSwansea will finish 13th thisseason and I think West Hamwill just avoid relegation andfinish 17th.

West Ham’s defeat toNewcastle meant it was onestep forward and two stepsback once again after theirfine 2-0 win at Cardiff.

Our inability to win back toback games reared its uglyhead again as Newcastle ranout comfortable winners atUpton Park.

That 3-1 defeat put usback into the relegation mirelevel on points will bottomclub Cardiff as our bleakseason got a little bleaker.

The arrivals of AntonioNocerino and MarcoBorriello brought a smile tomy face and the optimismback, with a busy last week ofthe window expected we willlook to enter a vital Februaryon a high.

The month of February isthe shortest month of theyear and the most importantfor the Hammers this season,a month with four winnablefixtures three of which athome, could be the push weneed to head for survival.

Allardyce came out afterthe Newcastle defeat to saywe require another 22 pointsto survive this season and thismonth we must collect a fairamount of those 22. Starting with Swansea, awin would breathe newconfidence into the homefaithful who have just seentwo home wins all season, astark contrast to that of lastyear where it was all roses athome. One thing that willconcern Sam Allardyce and

his men is that nagging factthat since their return fromthe Championship two yearsago, we have failed to winback to back league games,and it is something that theywill want to get off their backssooner rather than later.

It is all well and goodwinning games but if you aregoing to lose the next two youare back to where youstarted, and Allardyce, Nolanand McDonald know that alltoo well.

A win over Swansea, simplyhas to be backed up by a winover Aston Villa.

I joked, after buying ticketsfor Villa away: (glutton forpunishment, I still haven’tseen us score away fromhome this season) “I hope wedraw with Swansea so I can

David Bowden

A vitalmonthahead

the following Tuesday athome to Norwich, we will lookto pick up as many points aspossible.

We have a relatively solidrecord at home over Norwichand the final visitors of themonth, Southampton, sothere is no reason at all tosuggest why the Hammerscan’t make the most of thisvital month.

As a club we must enterthis month positively - theremust be no playing for draws.

We must fight for everyball, win every tackle and takeour chances. The footballingGods have given us thismonth to rescue ourselvesand we must grab it with bothhands. If we can pick up nine

see us win away from homefor a change”.

Such is the confidence inmy head right now. Of courseI hope we win and I can be theman at Villa Park who says, “Iwas there when we got ourfirst back to back wins in thePremier League under SamAllardyce”. It has to happensoon, surely?

Such is the confidence inmy head right now. Of courseI hope we win and I can be theman at Villa Park who says: “Iwas there when we got ourfirst back to back wins in thePremier League under SamAllardyce”. It has to happensoon, surely?

New players often bring achange of fortunes, ascompetition for places meansplayers tend to up their gamea little, and it is “CaptainFantastic” Kevin Nolan whowill be the most concernedwith Borriello and Nocerino inat the club. He is surely theman whose place at the clubis under threat.

With Carroll slowly butsurely finding his feet again,this month could well be thestart of when our fortunesbegin to stop hiding.

Having not won back toback games since thatpromotion-winning season,the importance of getting thatmonkey off their back couldwell see a run in form.

It really is a confidencething. Should they be able towin at Villa Park after havingbeaten Swansea, it will givethe whole club a lift and beliefagain. With a winnable fixture

points in February things willstart to look a lot morepositive and with new players,the buzz around Upton Parkwill be at an all-time highagain.

This month will define ourseason one way or another, asolid month will see a rise inbelief and a rise in confidencewhich should see us to safety.But if we have a dodgy month,our bleak season will be verymurky indeed.The playersneed us so please don’t boo.Let’s get Upton Park rockingbecause we need to makeUpton Park a fortress again.

Follow me on Twitter@Bowdenwhu

Jussi Jääskeläinen was sittingcomfortably as West Ham'sundisputed number 1 aftersigning in June 2012. Butalmost a year later and therewas a new kid on the scene.His name was Adrián SanMiguel del Castillo, or simplyput, Adrián.

At 37 years of age,Jääskeläinen was never goingto be a long-term player andthat was signified by an initialone year contract, which hassince been renewed, grantingthe Finnish ex-international afurther year at West Ham.

Jääskeläinen played in all ofWest Ham's Premier Leaguematches in the 2012/13

season. He was also runner-up in the Hammer of the Yearaward, beaten only byWinston Reid. Triggering thecontract extension for Jussiwas therefore as easy of adecision as any.

Adrián's arrival seemed tohave little impact on thestarting line-up and after afantastic defensive start tothe season, Jussi was stilllooking as sharp as ever.

The 27 year old Spaniardwas stuck on the bench afterhis arrival from Real Betis.Adrián was a product of theBetis youth academy and wasonly gifted his debut after a

sending off gave him hischance off the bench.

He then managed to holdonto his place and made 32appearances in La Liga whichincluded 11 clean sheets anda man of the matchperformance against RealMadrid in a 1-0 victory.

His team consequentlyqualified for the UEFA EuropaLeague but he then chose torisk first team football, for ashot at the Premier Leaguewith West Ham United.

Jussi was part of thedefence that started thecurrent season concedingjust one goal in the openingfour Premier League games.

Toby Fry

Jussi v Adrian:Who’s the bestman betweenthe sticks?

against the two Manchesterclubs away and a homematch against an in-formArsenal side.

Neither keeper has beenparticularly worse than theother. In fact there has beenlittle to decide between thetwo throughout the season.

However, Adrián has a long-term future with West Ham ifhe and the club play theircards right so he simplyneeded to be introduced intothe squad as early aspossible. He is now learninghis trade in the PremierLeague alongside one of themost experiencedgoalkeepers of all-time.

He is constantly learning anew lesson through this toughtime since his arrival. Adriánhas also had far greater faninteraction through the

He has conceded 27 goals inhis 19 appearances thisseason, with eight cleansheets. This has, of course,largely been with a weakeneddefence, due to injuries.

Adrián's patience partiallypaid off on August 27, 2013when he made his West HamUnited debut in the LeagueCup versus Cheltenham Townin a 2-1 victory. He concededthe penalty which giftedCheltenham with their goal soit wasn’t the perfect start.

He then made two furtherLeague Cup appearances,which both ended in victoryagainst Burnley andTottenham Hotspur.

His first Premier Leagueappearance was away atManchester United, ending ina 3-1 defeat for theHammers. Before Tuesday’sgame away at Chelsea, he hadplayed a further four games,taking his season total toseven appearances havingconceded 16 with two cleansheets.

"The statistics don't lie" is acommon phrase used, and BigSam would tell you nodifferent, but in this case, Idon't believe they tell you thefull story.

Jussi's record is deceptivebecause of the difference indefence that has played infront of him. Adrián has neverhad a full strength defence infront of him, and so has beenmuch less fortunate. Equally,Adrián has played in fixtures

medium of Twitter. He shareshis thoughts post-match andalso his optimism pre-match.

This goes down very wellwith the modern daysupporter. Having said that, itis certainly not a reason withregards to selection - butnothing more than a bonus.

Jussi has been a fantasticservant for the club, and couldmost certainly do a fantasticjob if called upon, however,we've all seen Adrián's abilityshine through some dismalteam performances. Whichever way Sam decides to gowill cause little harm but witha look to the future, Adriánwould be my choice, andthat's what it comes down to.Just personal choice.

Follow me on Twitter@TheTobyFry

How do you rate AstonVilla's season so far?

I had expected to progressa bit better than this underLambert. His policy of signingyoungsters, althoughadmirable, is perhaps a littlebit long term for me. I thinkwe’ll be safe this year andhopefully with a few moresignings in the summer we’llbe able to move up the tablenext season.

How do you think yoursummer signings have

adjusted to the PremierLeague?

I had high hopes for LiborKozak as he came herehaving been the top scorer inthe Europa League. He’sdone all right but his injuryhas curtailed his progress.Antonio Luna started well buthas allowed the left hand sideto become a bit of aweakness for us. Tonev hasperformed all right on thewing but I was expecting a bitmore. Jonas Okore wasagain very unlucky with hisinjury as..

You signed Grant Holt andRyan Bertrand already thistransfer window. How havethey performed so far?

Bertrand is exactly whatwe need at left backespecially as my confidence inLuna had diminished in thatrole. He played well on hisdebut and I think his additionwill definitely make usstronger in defence. I thinkHolt might be a good signing– he’s worked well withLambert before but wasn’tgreat on his debut but he didreplace Gabby who had had a

Opposition View: Aston Villa

Tim Holland speaks toPeter Mortimer aboutLambert’s youth policy,Benteke’s goaldrought and WestHam becomingBirmingham mark II

and for that reason theperformances haven’t beenthere. Big Andy needs tostart performing otherwise Ithink it’ll be back to theChampionship with you andyou’ll start yourmetamorphosis intoBirmingham mark two.

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

An in-form Benteke is amatch for any team and Ithink Grant Holt’s power andaggression will be an issuefor your defenders. GabbyAgbonlahor has been in a bitof from of late as well.

great game before tryingsome unexpected crowdsurfing.

Can you see any furthersignings?

I think we’ll try tostrengthen our attackingoptions in this transferwindow. We’ve been linked toLeigh Griffiths but I’m notsure he’s the answer.Apparently we’re competingwith you for Lescott as wellbut I can’t see him leavingMan City personally unless hemoves to Beskitas for bigmoney.

Benteke shunned a summermove and stayed in theMidlands. How would yourate his second season atthe club?

He’s been quieter than lastseason but I think that was tobe expected. He’s still our topscorer and has scored somecrucial goals. Every strikerhas a goal drought at somestage and fortunately he gotover his and with the WorldCup beckoning hopefully hecan build on hisperformances againstArsenal and Liverpool.

What’s been your opinion ofWest Ham this season?

Where to begin? I thinkAllardyce has lost thedressing room and the fans

Which West Ham playerswould you have in yoursquad?

I like your ‘keeper Adrian – Ithink he’d make a worthyunderstudy for Guzman. Ithink Reid is a great player aswell and I think you’ve missedhim a lot over the last fewmatches.

What’s your prediction forthe match and both clubsthis season?

I think it’ll be a close gameso I’ll go for 2-1 to us. Interms of the season, I thinkAston Villa will finish 14th andWest Ham will, sadly, finish19th.

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