Success or Not?
Jul 27, 2008 Columbus Crew, MLS All Stars, Matches
Back in March we found out that we would be playing in this years MLS All-Stars game in Toronto, a game that many MLS fans were not too happy about and considered it to be a waste of time, to which i wrote about in this POST.
The tour is now over and the players are all back home, hopefully training. Did the tour work out for us? will North Americans run out and buy a new shirt each season? has West Ham shown the World what a great team it is? Well there is no doubt that West Ham will be remembered for a year at least, the MLS have never had so much media coverage in its 12 year life and already the MLS bigwigs are setting up next years opponents, Wow does that mean that West Ham are as well loved in North America as Chelsea and Man Utd are? its doubtful but we certainly have raised the profile of the club, not in the way we wanted but mainly due to the Crew Saga.
To me, the Tour was a success and West Ham are probably known by 10 times more North Americans than they was this time last year, the US TV ratings for the All-Stars game was higher than any MLS Game played, So well done West Ham United, Lets conquer Russia next season.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: all stars, Bigwigs, chelsea, Man Utd, media coverage, Mls Fans, Mls Toronto, No Doubt, North America, Opponents, Russia, Saga, Stars Game, success, Toronto, Tv Ratings, Waste Of Time, West Ham United, Wow
Premier League All-Stars - Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham
Jul 23, 2008 Featured Article
Good or bad idea? Dean Ashton seems to think its a brilliant idea, so how would the team be picked?
The MLS All-Star squad is selected by voting from fans, the media, team head coaches and general managers, so would that mean Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool & Arsenal players only in the team.
I can see the bigwigs at the EPL headquarters rubbing their hands with the thought of more income.
Playing this game mid season would cause games to be postponed and could also bring on unnecessary injuries to what is already hectic for some teams during a season.
So is it a good idea, or should we just stick to Premier League football and battle it out for Euro places.
Sensible Comments Accepted
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: all stars, Amp, Arsenal Players, Bad Idea, Bigwigs, Brilliant Idea, chelsea, Dean, dean ashton, europe, Game, Games, General Managers, Head Coaches, Liverpool, Liverpool West Ham, Man Utd, Mean Man, Mid Season, MLS, Mybloglog, Premier League Football, Unnecessary Injuries
Game On! (Video)
Jul 22, 2008 MLS All Stars, Matches, West Ham News
Alan Curbishley speaks out after the Columbus Crew game and how he and the team are looking forward to the All-Stars game but also shows his dispair on not making the US tour longer due to Fianacial reason, Curbishley on the Crew Game:
“It was fun, a lot of hard work and a really good test. Columbus is in midseason so we knew it was going to be a tough game,”
Curbishley on what he expects with The MLS All-Stars game:
“Obviously, we know it’s a big game, We know it’s sold out. We’ve got a lot of fans going there who have booked up holidays around the game. We’re going to make sure we’re OK for the game, probably ease up training for the game a little bit. We understand it’s going to be an electric atmosphere, so, game on. We’re looking forward to it.”
Curbishley on how the tour promotes West Ham and soccer in the USA & Canada:
“We wanted to come to America. We wanted to promote ourselves. We want to help America promote soccer and do our part,”
Curbishley said.
“Not only the first team squad came out but a lot of the academy coaches came out to do soccer camps, soccer schools as we go along.
“We’re here for a whole bundle of reasons, and one is to show everybody what we’re about at West Ham.”
“There are one or two things we want to do this week. We want to get fit but we want to give MLS an uplift,”
Curbishley said.
“It’s going back live to England as well (midnight London time). It’s not just being shown here. We’re going to take it seriously.”
“We’ve got to look at the bigger picture and the picture is we’ve got a season to be training for so we’ll work Tuesday and Wednesday a little harder than we would a normal game but certainly come Thursday we’ll be really excited,” Neill said. “Obviously, it’s the best players in America and we’re getting to take it on in what seems to be a really promoted event and we’re privileged to be a part of it.”
and what Curbishley said about the tour and MLS Soccer:
“The whole trip is shorter than we wanted because we wanted to stay longer and probably make base here a bit but the dowry doesn’t allow that, “We’re really excited to be here and the exposure we’re getting is great. We didn’t realize how many American West Ham fans there are. It’s amazing. Major League (Soccer) is trying to take off soccer-wise and you can see by the crowd coming out on a Sunday afternoon it’s really good. They’ve got a lot of work to do but the more publicity and high profile teams from England and all over the world that come to play, the better it will be.”
Video courtesy of MLSNet.com
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: Alan Curbishley, all stars, Amp, Big Game, columbus crew, curbs, Dispair, Electric Atmosphere, fun, Game Manager, Game Shows, Holidays, Little Bit, London Time, Midseason, MLS, Mls Soccer, Soccer Camps, Soccer Schools, Stars Game, Uplift, Usa Amp Canada, West Ham, West Ham United
Slack Security ends in turmoil as West Ham and Columbus Crew Fans battle
Jul 21, 2008 West Ham News
A group of around 30 West Ham fans were jeered at by more than 100 Crew Fans which led to fights breaking out. No arrests were made.
It was said that the Hammers fans made their way to the corner of the stadium where the hardened Crew fans watch the match.
I find it hard to beleive that Police and security allowed the hammers fans to wander around the seating areas of the stadium and especialy to where home fans congregate.
Lets hope the security at the MLS all stars game in Toronto watch crowd control instead of the match!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: all stars, Array, columbus crew, Crowd Control, Game Watch, Home Fans, Led, Match, MLS, Mls Toronto, Seating Areas, Stars Game, Toronto, Turmoil, West Ham Fans
Full Result & Stats: Columbus Crew 1-3 West Ham United
Jul 21, 2008 Columbus Crew, Matches
West Ham United vs. Columbus Crew
Scoring:
WHU — Dean Ashton - Asst (Julien Faubert )
CC — Jason Garey - Asst (Cory Elenio )
WHU — Own Goal (Brad Evans)
WHU — Kyle Reid - Asst (Craig Bellamy )
It was only 4 minutes into the game when Craig Bellamy had a shot at goal just missing wide of the left post, and then in the 6th minute a
great pass from Julien Faubert to Dean Ashton scored from just outside the penalty area, and then a shot from Anton Ferdinand in the 8th minute was deflected away from goal, West Ham was clearly in control of the match and the Crew hardly making any headway, in the 15 minute Dean Ashton took his 2nd shot at goal from 20 yards out for it to fly just past the right post, in the 20th minute a clumsy foul by Lucas Neill against Eddie Gaven gave Crew the chance to equalise with a pass from Cory Elenio to Jason Garey who scored just inside the penalty area, bang on 26 minutes a clumsy defensive error saw Brad Evans score into his own net making it 2-1 to the Hammers
In the 2nd half 2 subs were made West Ham Carlton Cole for Dean Ashton and for Crew Brian Carroll for Eddie Gaven.
It took only 8 minutes for West Ham to score its 3rd goal by Kyle Reid from a pass by Craig Bellamy inside the penalty area.
A great game and second pre season friendly win for the Hammers, Confidence will be abundant for the West Ham players leading up to the MLS All Stars game in Toronto on Thursday.
Game Stats
West Ham United Columbus Crew
Total Shots: 13 12
Shots on Goal: 4 3
Total Saves: 3 1
Fouls: 8 6
Offsides: 4 2
Corner Kicks: 7 6
West Ham United Starting Lineup
1 - Robert Green (GK) 76
2 - Lucas Neill
5 - Anton Ferdinand 84
8 - Scott Parker 71
9 - Dean Ashton 46
10 - Craig Bellamy 87
16 - Mark Noble 57
20 - Julien Faubert 76
27 - Calum Davenport 71
28 - Kyle Reid 57
40 - Joe Widdowson
Substitutes
23 - Jimmy Walker (GK) 76
11 - Matthew Etherington
12 - Carlton Cole 46
17 - Hayden Mullins 57
22 - Tony Stokes 76
31 - Jack Collison 71
44 - Bondz N’Gala 84
45 - Jordan Spence 71
46 - Junior Stanislaus 57
48 - Ashley Miller 87
Columbus Crew Starting Lineup
30 - Andy Gruenebaum (GK)
3 - Brad Evans 71
8 - Duncan Oughton 71
9 - Jason Garey 64
12 - Eddie Gaven 46
13 - Andrew Peterson
23 - Ezra Hendrickson 64
24 - Jed Zayner
26 - Cory Elenio 76
27 - Ryan Junge 64
32 - Steven Lenhart 64
Substitutes
18 - Kenny Schoeni (GK)
6 - Andy Iro 64
10 - Alejandro Moreno 64
14 - Chad Marshall 64
15 - Stefani Miglioranzi 71
16 - Brian Carroll 46
21 - Ryan Miller 71
25 - George Josten 76
29 - Ricardo Pierre-Louis 64
Referee: Ben Chouaf
Referee’s Assistants: Michael Salyers; Jeffrey Mellen
4th Official: Mikael Lundqvist
Time of Game: 90:00
Weather: Partly Cloudy -and- 90 degrees
Attendance: 9,117
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: all stars, Anton Ferdinand, Asst, Bang On, Brad Evans, C2, columbus crew, craig bellamy, dean ashton, Ebay, Eddie Gaven, Game Stats, Great Game, hammers, Headway, Jason Garey, Julien Faubert, lucas neill, Mls Toronto, Shots On Goal, Stars Game, West Ham United, whu
You want the truth? Here it is!
Jul 18, 2008 Featured Article, West Ham News
Alan Curbishley speaks out about the future for West Ham and his squad.
His reply to was there any bids from Aston Villa and Newcastle for Anton Ferdinand and Turkish giants Galatasaray and Manchester City for Lucas Neill and was he looking to sell them, was simply:
NO NO NO NO
Curbishley has been ordered to cut the squad from 42 to 27, finding clubs for that many players is quite a task on its own, so when asked about his plans to bring in more players, his reply was:
“West Ham were crippled by injuries for large parts of last season, with a number of key players missing chunks of the campaign.
After so many injuries last season with key players such as Faubert, Bellamy, Dyer etc etc Curbishley is happy to have what he calls his OLD/NEW signings, and any new signings will be dealt with at the right pace, Curbishley said :
“I think everybody is jumping up and down and coming to their own conclusions. Let’s just wait and see what happens to us.
“I did say at the end of the season that it was the size of the squad which held us together, because we had tremendous (injury) problems.
“There’s a long way to go before the window closes and we want to improve the squad.
“I feel that if I get my best XI out there we’ve got a decent side. I want to add a little bit more to that to get a bit more competition and we’re working very hard to do that.”
Asked if he was happy with result 4-2 from the game with Hampton and Richmond Borough. his answer was:
“Of course i am, this was a friendly match to test our teams fitness and style, some of these players we put out today have barely played any games together.
“Our main concern with friendlies is unnecessary injuries and i was very pleased that none occurred tonight.
I have to agree with Curbs, last night was just a friendly and more important, no injuries to our versatile players.
Sundays game should be interesting and more demanding on the West Ham squad. The MLS All Stars game next Thursday will be played on a plastic pitch, which when wet can be very slippery and prone to causing many injuries.
And well done WHUFC.com for putting our minds at rest regarding Robert Green.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: Alan Curbishley, all stars, Anton Ferdinand, Aston Villa, bellamy, Chunks, curbs, Decent Side, Friendlies, Friendly Match, Galatasaray, lucas neill, Manchester City, New Signings, Newcastle, Plastic Pit, Reply, Richmond Borough, Stars Game, Unnecessary Injuries, Versatile Players, West Ham
West Ham Players Flight of Hell
Jul 17, 2008 West Ham News
The trip to the USA & Canada is going to be a flight of hell for the West Ham squad when they travel to Ohio (Columbus Crew) & then on to Canada (MLS All-Stars).
The sqaud is to be flown economy class after the company that the MLS Bosses chose to transport the West Ham players went bust.
Tomorrow half the squad will fly to Chicago on a scheduled flight and the rest of the squad will fly out a few hours later, then they will have a 9 hour wait to catch a flight from Chicago to Columbus where they will be playing Columbus Crew on Thursday.
Its ironic that the sponsors of West Ham are XL Airways/Holidays so why cant our sponsors give the squad a private plane? and i may be wrong but its pretty certain that BG owns part of XL Airways.
It looks as though the supporting away fans will have to share seats with Bellamy and Ashton, and maybe some of them can give some advice to Curbs.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: advice, all stars, Amp, ashton, Auction, bellamy, BG, Bust, Canada Mls, Class Tomorrow, columbus crew, curbs, Economy Class, Fly, Hell, Holidays, Private Plane, Scheduled Flight, Travel Ohio, Usa Amp Canada, West Ham, Xl
MLS All Stars Fans Dissapointed its West Ham
Mar 14, 2008 West Ham News
After finding out a few months ago, that West Ham was going to Canada to play what i thought was the Vancouver Whitecaps, it now seems i was wrong about the Team but right about the Country.
So i decided after reading some good articles about our little tour to Canada, to play the MLS All Stars, i would find out what the fans of the MLS had to say about West Ham going to play their All Stars. Click Here for to find out
Personally, i believe we should be playing European teams and building tactical knowledge from that, and i dare say, poor old Curbs does not have any say in this senseless visit to Canada.
This is an Example of one of the MLS Fans Comments:-
MLS FANS WEBSITE
Comments
Yawn. Weak.
lets say that i not impressed with this team… the long standing rumour was that it was going to be liverpool and to get westham instead doesn;t really get the juices flowing …
Check out here what the MLS Fans had to say about West Ham being chosen to play the MLS All Stars and leave a message on how you feel.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Tags: Academy, all stars, blog, canada, curbs, Going To Canada, hammers, Juices, Live, Liverpool, MLS, Mls Fans, Tactical Knowledge, upton park, usa, Vancouver, Visit Canada, Website Comments, West Ham, West Ham News
