WHUFC vs Aston Village -- July 26th, 2020

So... season 2019/20 finally staggers to a climax....

We did what we had to do - stay in the Premier League. Y'all know my thoughts on that subject.

Tomorrow will be a fitting send off for the extremely brief summer break, or another serving of shite that means nothing in the short term but is part of our ongoing demise...

Soucek will want to play well, because he's just signed... and he seems to like to play well.

Antonio should want to play well because he usually does but we have a horrible habit of making players switch off...

Bowen might not play thanks to the ankle injury in midweek

Creswell might not lay thanks to an injury form midweek... of the two we'll miss Boen ore but we have lesss cover for Cresswell's position - perhaps Masuaku will start?

Noble will most likely play and be captain because... no one at the club seems to have the wit or wisdom to do anything else- and it'l also allow him to match Hurst's appearance record - which is nice and would be a fitting send off, if only it didn't presage his return next season as a guaranteed first teamer...

I feel we need a strong showing and a good result... because... well, honestly... because we have been shit too often this season... extremely shit and we need to stop that. We need to win games... we need to perform even when there's 'nothing' to play for... we need to learn to become a team that gets results, not one that survives in the league by virtue of other teams being even more pants than we were.

It's a perfect opportunity for us to do so... Villa are not good, we have a good record against them in recent years... in fact... everything is in place for us to do the necessary... but it's all also in place for exactly the kind of time we get turned over...

We... as they say... shall see...

Surprise surprise ....... Yet another negative Post .

Why do you Support West Ham.?

You never ever post anything Postive about West Ham .

Arran wrote:Surprise surprise ....... Yet another negative Post .

Why do you Support West Ham.?

You never ever post anything Postive about West Ham .

I post my reaction to what I see. If I see something positive I post something that reflects that.

If I see something negative, I post something that reflects my opinion on that.

Why do you support West Ham?

couldn't access this website until just now... so here's me match thoughts....


4-2-3-1
So yet again, insisting on the formation that rarely works for us – yes, yes, I know… if we win I look like an arsehole… but what’s new about that?

Bowen is fit to play – Fredericks replaces Cresswell (so it appears that the ‘injuries’ stated as reasons people don’t play might not be as injurious as you’d think…
Other than that it’s the same team as last time out.

7 minutes gone – the Cockney Boys website is down – or I’m barred from it…

Bight start from Villa – as you’d expect.

The Toon are leading Liverpool, Arsenal are leading Watford… so as things currently stand, it’s all plus ca change… if you know what I mean.

Goes without saying that if we could contribute to John Terry being relegated that would most definitely be a real sweetener to the day.

Long ball out of defense finds Antonio on his own and one on one with the Villa keeper – but our goal scoring machine slips the ball wide of the post… golden opportunity goes begging.

Man City have taken the lead against Norwich… which again means there’s no change in the table..

Free header in the middle of the box for Villa… fortunately it was straight at Fabianski.

Here’s the score that makes a tiny bit of difference… plucky little Bournemouth have taken the lead and so leap frog a place above Watford but still in the relegation places… so it’s a change but not really a change…

17 minutes gone – been almost all Villa so far.

A bit of a West Ham attack, a little pressure… but we can’t get clear sight of the ball or control it properly so it pings about, goes out to the wings, gets played about a lot until Rice balloons it over the bar form outside the area.

Brighton have taken an away lead against Burnley – which drops us down to 16th place…

Drinks break… please don’t have this as part of the game any more.

Watford are now two down… I think my preferred end of season would be for Villa and Watford to drop and Bournemouth to somehow survive… but for that to happen we need to in this game.
That would also put us back above Brighton…

Long pass through the middle is too long for Soucek to get onto and the keeper gathers.

Things are picking up a bit as we become more combative and competitive in the middle, winning the ball.

noble puts in a weak ball to the 6 yard box, but fights hard to win back possession when it comes straight out…
At the half hour mark we’re being more assertive and controlling the possession more.

Another one of our ‘clever’ free kicks… Noble rolls it to Rice who blasts it wide of the goal from distance.

Watford seem to be going down without a fight – which basically confirms their relegation. I feel sorry for Hayden Mullins. He wasn’t so bad when he played with us and it really kinda sucks to get handed a poor team in terrible circumstances and then have to have your name in the record books as the boss who took them down.

Villa get a corner… but it’s cleared, by Fornals I think, who is playing but hasn’t really done much.

Antonio lofts in a cross but it’s just too high for Soucek and so at 38 minutes… it’s still all square

Ball goes int the box and… this is our problem… Antonio is our most frequent provider but is also the forward who’s supposed to be on the receiving end of such things…
so needless to say… we aren’t scoring.

Another West Ham free kick drops into a bundle of players and there’s nowhere for it to go but out.

Liverpool seem to have woken up to the idea that they are the Champs and have equalized against the toon.

uh-oh… Everton have pulled back a goal against Bournemouth… that’s not good. And Watford have what is likely to be no more than a consolation at the Arse.

Ugh… Villa player completely unmarked in the box… receives the ball but fortunately can’t place it anywhere other than directly at Fabianski.

44 minutes gone…

burnely have levelled things against Brighton.

3 minutes to play.

all of which puts the table back exactly where it was before the game(s) started.

Although plucky little Bournemouth have once again taken the lead against the toffees…

Whistle goes… a lacklustre first half. We’re not doing the job (other than not losing). Villa are one of the worst teams in the league and as you’d expect by now, we’re hardly making much of a mark on the game.

somewhat unsurprisingly, the half time highlights feature every game except the one we’re in.

The season will all come down to us – especially in terms of Bourenmouth and Villa because as things stand, Bournemouth will get the win but still go down and Villa will see out a dull game and stay safe…

What the fupp!!!!!

We were so boring they’ve kicked us off the TV… we’re now watching Leicester vs Man Utd… so a 0-0 game is a more thrilling and compelling notion than West Ham.

Don’t that just take the biscuit? Thank crap, it was just because our game was a little late kicking off… but we’re back on the telly once more… and Villa are on the attack.

Haller and Yarmolenko replace Bowen and Antonio… and almost immediately Haller goes down in pain. M*yes just can’t play subs at all… take off two of our most determined and attacking players… and leave on Fornals who gives away a free kick just outside the area…

I guess you could just about justify Antonio going off because he was on a yellow…

Fredericks bring down Grealish on the edge of the area… fortunately Villa are terrible and their unmarked player on the far post who obviously gets a clean head to the ball can’t control it and puts it well over.
Fredericks is now on a yellow.

See, once again, our ‘lack of losing’ just to call it something… is down to the opposition being terrible, not actually us doing anything good.

We might be safe, but I’d say we’re already one of the five worst teams in the league for next season.
Yeah… take off Antonio and Bowen but leave on Noble and Fornals…

If we took Bowne off to protect him from his injury then honestly, he shouldn’t have played at all.

Brighton have taken the lead again, so we’re back down to 16th.

Noble gets taken down on the corner point of the penalty area and we have another free kick. But Yarmolenko’s kick goes into the side netting.

Villa come at us and Rice gives away a free kick just outside the box. 62 minutes gone, barely half of a half to try to get anything out of this game. The free kick hits the wall and goes out for a corner.

Do our players not realize that there’s money for each post in the table and the higher up you go, the more money you get?
So a West Ham victory would not only relegate Terry & Villa but also put us back in 15th and get us a few extra quid.

Oohh… Lanzini is coming on. Swapping him out for Fornals…

another boring water break….

Terrible header by Haller as he’s picked out in the middle of the box… very little pressure on him… should at least get those on target.

Watford are trying to make a comeback at Arsenal… we’re… honestly… just going through the motions.

15 minutes of the season left to play.

Haller gets put through to run on goal but he doesn’t have the pace or the aggression of Antonio and so we end up having to play the ball back out to Rice who shoots off target.

That’s why you play Antonio AND Haller… not either or….

Diop brings down Grealish to give Villa another free kick just outside the area… fortunately Diop clears the ball and Villa get another corner…
Grealish dances through the area as everyone is obviously terrified to touch him and concede a penalty… but his shot is deflected out for another corner…

Lanzini is brought down pretty much on the edge of the area, giving us a free kick inside the ‘D’ but the soft kick hits the wall and goes nowhere.

Bournemouth have now hit three and really honestly deserve to get something out of today other than relegated…

10 minutes left for us to avoid dropping a place and giving Terry something to crow about by allowing villa to survive in the Premier League…

and just to labor the point, villa go three on three at the back and the ball just trickles inches wide of Fabianski’s far post… we could still lose this.

And it’s Stanislas who scored for Bournemouth… and as I type this… Villa slam the ball into the back of the net.
Yup, you generally get what you deserve out of a game and we’ve done fupp all in this one and deserve to lose.
Fabianski got a hand to it but could do no more than guide it into the net.

johnson has been the only bright spot in this turgid affair.

But I guess so has Yarmolenko as he scores only a minute after Grealish. That was a terrible goal. Yarmo picks the ball up maybe twenty five yard s out… cuts inside. Lashes a shot as the defender sticks out a leg to block him. The ball hits the defender’s leg, balloons up in the air (this is 25 yards from the goal) and then loops all the way over the defenders and keeper into the back of the net.

Noble finally comes off with three minutes of the game remaining. Anderson replaces him – is this Anderson’s final appearance for West Ham? Is it Noble’s?

Here’s how the Guardian saw the strange turn of events…

“WHAAAAAAAT A GOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL! West Ham 0-1 Aston Villa (Grealish 84)

JACK GREALISH HAS DONE IT! JACK GREALISH HAS DONE IT! THE CAPTAIN HAS DONE IT! He takes a square pass just outside the box, left of centre, drags the ball down the side of the defender, enough to make space and angle for the shot, then flings everything he’s ever been, everything he’s ever known and everything that exists in the world into a rising, screeching cry for freedom, and Villa are staying up!”

but then had to write this….

“BUT ARE THEY! GOAAAAAALLLL! I LOVE "THIS LEAGUE!" West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa (Yarmolenko 85)

I’m sure in the fullness of time, this will be an own goal, but whatevz; Yarmolenko shoots from just outside the box, it flicks off a defender’s leg, and describes a perfect parabola, looping over Reina and in! Can Villa hold it down?”

4 minutes of additional time to – honestly… probably do nothing or balls it right up… Villa are piss poor and we’re struggling to compete with them at this point…

Shitty tactics, shitty management and shitty performance… probably about the best way to end this season… basically the same way as we’ve done all year.

Bournemouth did everything that was asked of them today… now Villa are just playing keep ball and wasting time because they know they are safe if things stay as they are.

And there it goes… shitty end to a shitty season… Villa and Terry get to celebrate… at least nervously as they wait to see if Watford can magically pull another goal back against Arsenal…

Watford can’t… and Villa are safe.

You never post any postive even when their are postives to be had - It`s always negative.
Their have been plenty of Postives this season and their has been some negative points but anybody reading your posts would thing it`s been all negative this season which isn`t the case.

At times this season we`ve played some really nice attacking football and at other times we`ve been awful agreed.

At times yesteday Villa were riding their Luck,We could of quite easly of hammered Villa yesterday but as it were we played out a 1-1 Draw.


At least now the seasons over with Dont have to come on here and read your negative posts everyday.

Just cannot see how anyone can say we had a good season.
One of the worst West Ham teams I have seen for a long time.

I`m not for one minute saying we`ve had a good season far from it.I`m just stating that we have at some points of the season showed promising signs that deserve credit but Yes we have also seen loads of poor games that make you wonder how we are still in the league. But even last season when were really good under Pellegrini Westhamonkey was still slating the team and players - My point I`m trying to make it is sometimes you have to look at the postives no matter how small or big they are and not always look at the Negative points which Westhamonkey always does.

Anyway one thing we can all agree on is on hoping we do have a better season next year where their are more postives then  negatives.