The 2015-2016 Football Thread

[Apple fanboy]

Great game, but throwing away a 2-1 lead just sums up our season really. Europa League football for next season and we absolutely deserve it.

Hopefully LVG leaves after the FA Cup final and whoever comes in (preferably Mourinho) would be able to bring the club back to where it was.

I'm not sure you'll ever be where you were tbh. I'm sure you'll win trophies again, but I doubt you'll dominate like the AF years again.

I'm not sure you threw away the lead either. I think it was always our night and your 2 goals were just a couple of blips.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It certinly did! Bragging rights with my Man Utd manager tomorrow firmly mine. Strangely he's ignoring my texts this evening!

To be far with our 20 shots to their 3, anything other than a win would have been terrible.

A fitting way to say goodbye to a great stadium. However embarrassed by what went on before the game. Animals.
Such a shame we fell apart against Swansea. This result would have meant so much more.

Delighted you won, and I'd love to see you overtake United. Anyway, also very happy you had a great night.

(At this stage, I want all of the 'Big Five' - perhaps, Arsenal excluded, - to suffer a few bloodied noses and black eyes).

Great game, but throwing away a 2-1 lead just sums up our season really. Europa League football for next season and we absolutely deserve it.

Hopefully LVG leaves after the FA Cup final and whoever comes in (preferably Mourinho) would be able to bring the club back to where it was.

Agreed that Manchester United deserve to be where they are.

However, if you are sufficiently foolish - and have taken complete leave of your senses - to think of bringing in the Special and Pompous and Narcissistic One you deserve the wanton destruction and scorched wreckage he will inevitably leave in his wake.

I'm not sure you'll ever be where you were tbh. I'm sure you'll win trophies again, but I doubt you'll dominate like the AF years again.

I'm not sure you threw away the lead either. I think it was always our night and your 2 goals were just a couple of blips.

Agreed. West Ham were motivated passionately for this fixture, (which makes the mauling they received from Swansea all the more extraordinary); I would have been astonished if they had lost, given the setting and the circumstances.

 

[JamesMike]

Tonight we say goodbye to what has been our home for the last 118 years, Upton Park aka the Bolyen ground.

Hope we can give the place a proper send off with a good win against Man Utd. It might be too late for Champions leauge, but we still want to get a Europa spot.
Come on you Irons!

Congratulations on the win AFB!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Pity about the disgraceful behaviour of the West Ham fans before the match - disgusting and disgraceful and marred what should have been a fitting farewell to Upton Park.

According to the Guardian, West Ham's co-chairman, David Sullivan, attempted to blame Manchester United (for not having arrived earlier) for the trouble. Underwhelming, to say the least.

 

[mojolicious]

West Ham's co-chairman, David Sullivan, attempted to blame Manchester United (for not having arrived earlier) for the trouble.

He also told Sky "If you check the coach, there won’t be any damage to it" at around the same time that the video footage started to appear.

It's amazing that a newspaperman should be so unconcerned with checking the veracity of such public pronouncements...

...or is it?

 

[Apple fanboy]

Congratulations on the win AFB!

Thanks. Very graceful of you.
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He also told Sky "If you check the coach, there won’t be any damage to it" at around the same time that the video footage started to appear.

It's amazing that a newspaperman should be so unconcerned with checking the veracity of such public pronouncements...

...or is it?

Yes I did here that interview. I'm not sure I'd describe the Sport as a newspaper.
It's a shame that some idiots spoilt the night.
But there have always been a few idiots at every club.

 

[Fizzoid]

So, roll on the Euros!

 

[pachyderm]

i hate the hammers. @Lord Blackadder , didn't a bunch of their fans come over a while back and try to start some **** with some crew fans?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

He also told Sky "If you check the coach, there won’t be any damage to it" at around the same time that the video footage started to appear.

It's amazing that a newspaperman should be so unconcerned with checking the veracity of such public pronouncements...

...or is it?

Yes, I saw that appalling and grossly irresponsible - mendacious - quote. Photographs of the bus gave the lie to that.

Disgraceful interview; apparently, he also disingenuously suggested that the Manchester United team leave the coach and walk the remaining distance to the stadium.

No, he most certainly didn't cover himself in glory. Appalling interview.

Thanks. Very graceful of you.
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Yes I did here that interview. I'm not sure I'd describe the Sport as a newspaper.
It's a shame that some idiots spoilt the night.
But there have always been a few idiots at every club.

In recent years, such thuggish behaviour has been largely curbed, - now, it seems to be the exception, not the rule.

In fact, while we may bemoan the gentrification of the game (new grounds, global branding, far higher ticket prices, pricing it out of the reach of the old working class communities which provided the backbone of much of the support for clubs), deep down, in the innermost recesses of their flint like hearts, I rather suspect that the owners and managers of many clubs are not all that sorrowful that the old working class support is being discarded by a policy of financial and geographical attrition.

i hate the hammers. @Lord Blackadder , didn't a bunch of their fans come over a while back and try to start some **** with some crew fans?

Why do you 'hate' the Hammers?

One of the things I find fascinating about football is not just the statement of identity, the membership of an 'imagined community', and the engendering of loyalty that declaration of support for a team often brings, but that - in addition to a team one may love, very often, there is also a team that you desire all of the others to beat. No, destroy. Annihilate. You have a team you love, and you have a team you hate, in each league.

 

[oscillatewildly]

Too many gutless players. Also doesn't help that the default mode for a lot of them is panic - charging in, arriving late, not anticipating where the ball will drop or be passed.

The coach being attacked; guess it was a celebration of West Ham United through the years.

Fizzoid,

Given Rooney is likely to start the first game, down to him to perform and Hodgson to drop him if he doesn't. No complaints if he steps up. Has Hodgson got the balls?

On paper the England team looks poor at the back and mostly average in midfield, maybe:

Heaton
Smalling - though not on his performance last night
Dier
Milner, Drinkwater
Wilshere, Alli, Rooney,
Sturridge, Kane, Vardy

1-1-2-3-3, just lump it up top.

Cheers,
OW

 

[Lord Blackadder]

i hate the hammers. @Lord Blackadder , didn't a bunch of their fans come over a while back and try to start some **** with some crew fans?

Yep, back in 2008, they came over for a 'friendly'. Hooliganism is still quite rare in football here in the States, and I remember how surprised Crew supporters were when a few West Ham fans showed up, got wasted and tried to start fights. They were tossed out of the stadium fairly quickly. Some of them weren't even English. It wasn't a shining moment for the Hammers.

 

[Fizzoid]

Some of them weren't even English

You could say that about a lot of people from East London, so doesn't mean they weren't Hammers fans

 

[MonkeySee....]

Westham. What a scummy club.

Scum at the Swansea game and scum last night. Also the post match stuff was embarrassing.

 

[Apple fanboy]

i hate the hammers. @Lord Blackadder , didn't a bunch of their fans come over a while back and try to start some **** with some crew fans?

Fans don't cause trouble. Unfortunately it's just a bunch of idiots who have associated themselves with the club. I could say the same for just about every single English club.
These days trouble in the grounds is very rare, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen elsewhere.
True West Ham fans are appalled by it as much as everyone else.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I suppose that this is what happens when football fans get too nostalgic - they start behaving like they did in the bad old days of the late 20th century...

Though, it is important to remember that several generations of working-class fans before that behaved, by and large, with decorum in more 'primitive' stadium conditions.

 

[mojolicious]

For most of the 1990s I worked in a large typesetting studio. The majority of the typesetters were aged 30-40 and had done 'proper' apprenticeships, and the London print industry had been a notoriously 'robust' environment in the 70s/80s. Four of them were hardcore West Ham fans, three of them hardcore Millwall. Lovely diamond cockernee geezers an' no mistake. All were absolutely brilliant company, and both groups were firm friends within the context of work. But I don't think there was a single Monday morning during the football season that one or more of them didn't pitch up without a black eye or bruised ribs or a couple of stitches. Some of the stories were absolutely hair-raising, and it was difficult to reconcile the individual with the collective tribal mentality.

I went to Upton Park once, in the away end. It joined White Hart Lane and Elland Road on the list of venues I won't be returning to!

 

[Apple fanboy]

For most of the 1990s I worked in a large typesetting studio. The majority of the typesetters were aged 30-40 and had done 'proper' apprenticeships, and the London print industry had been a notoriously 'robust' environment in the 70s/80s. Four of them were hardcore West Ham fans, three of them hardcore Millwall. Lovely diamond cockernee geezers an' no mistake. All were absolutely brilliant company, and both groups were firm friends within the context of work. But I don't think there was a single Monday morning during the football season that one or more of them didn't pitch up without a black eye or bruised ribs or a couple of stitches. Some of the stories were absolutely hair-raising, and it was difficult to reconcile the individual with the collective tribal mentality.

I went to Upton Park once, in the away end. It joined White Hart Lane and Elland Road on the list of venues I won't be returning to!

None of us are returning to Upton Park!
Have you ever watched Green Street? It's almost exactly what you describe.

 

[617aircav]

When you are down on your luck, hire Big Sam cause he will keep you up. Your EPL status won't be debated, cause Big Sam has never been relegated.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Liverpool's performnance today makes it pretty clear that Klopp and Co think they have bigger fish to fry in Europe...a real lack of focus against a mediocre team who can't really be bothered.

When you are down on your luck, hire Big Sam cause he will keep you up. Your EPL status won't be debated, cause Big Sam has never been relegated.

True, so far.

On the other hand, Sunderland are a terribly run club, and their recent final league places suggest that they will continue to flirt with relegation until they finally do go down. Big Sam has become a journeyman fixer, a specialist in relegation avoidance, but fans generally don't like it when he hangs around too long. Even with Allardyce's interventions they are actually very lucky that two other poorly-run but "bigger" clubs have both imploded at the same time, otherwise Sunderland would have been for it.

 

[617aircav]

Liverpool's performnance today makes it pretty clear that Klopp and Co think they have bigger fish to fry in Europe...a real lack of focus against a mediocre team who can't really be bothered.



True, so far.

On the other hand, Sunderland are a terribly run club, and their recent final league places suggest that they will continue to flirt with relegation until they finally do go down. Big Sam has become a journeyman fixer, a specialist in relegation avoidance, but fans generally don't like it when he hangs around too long. Even with Allardyce's interventions they are actually very lucky that two other poorly-run but "bigger" clubs have both imploded at the same time, otherwise Sunderland would have been for it.

Yeah what's up with Sunderland having to survive at the last minute every year.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yeah what's up with Sunderland having to survive at the last minute every year.

Same thing happened at Villa over the last few seasons. Then this year they didn't even turn up.
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When you are down on your luck, hire Big Sam cause he will keep you up. Your EPL status won't be debated, cause Big Sam has never been relegated.

The fact that he was ditched by Newcastle must make today's result even more hurtful for every Newcastle fan.
I'd say Sunderland/Newcastle is one of the biggest rivals in England. I'm sure there will be more than a few Sunderland fans that will be just as pleased they sent Newcastle down than they managed to stay up.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Liverpool's performnance today makes it pretty clear that Klopp and Co think they have bigger fish to fry in Europe...a real lack of focus against a mediocre team who can't really be bothered.



True, so far.

On the other hand, Sunderland are a terribly run club, and their recent final league places suggest that they will continue to flirt with relegation until they finally do go down. Big Sam has become a journeyman fixer, a specialist in relegation avoidance, but fans generally don't like it when he hangs around too long. Even with Allardyce's interventions they are actually very lucky that two other poorly-run but "bigger" clubs have both imploded at the same time, otherwise Sunderland would have been for it.

Agreed.

While Sunderland are relegation escape specialists, - and Big Sam Allardyce is an expert fixer in helping clubs to avoid relegation - they were most fortunate that Newcastle and Norwich imploded simultaneously at the season's end.

In truth, Sunderland deserved to relegate, but put in a decent run just at the very end of the season, enough to save them from the drop.

Indeed, up until just a few weeks ago, Norwich had a cushion of six-seven points, but have had a dreadful last few games until tonight, when pride, belatedly, made a fleeting appearance.

Yeah what's up with Sunderland having to survive at the last minute every year.

They are masochists, who enjoy dicing with the form of football death that is relegation, and who seem to derive unseemly pleasure in torturing themselves, and their long suffering fans.

Same thing happened at Villa over the last few seasons. Then this year they didn't even turn up.
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The fact that he was ditched by Newcastle must make today's result even more hurtful for every Newcastle fan.
I'd say Sunderland/Newcastle is one of the biggest rivals in England. I'm sure there will be more than a few Sunderland fans that will be just as pleased they sent Newcastle down than they managed to stay up.

Unfortunately, you are right. I worked in that region for a year, and this insanely intense rivalry always struck me as one of the more absurd elements of the region.

 

[pachyderm]

Why do you 'hate' the Hammers?

Why?
1. Based on how their fans behaved here when they played a friendly vs the Crew.

2. I used to play against a chap was from there and he was a Hammer and an asshat to boot!

3. Andy Carroll. nuff said.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Agreed.

While Sunderland are relegation escape specialists, - and Big Sam Allardyce is an expert fixer in helping clubs to avoid relegation - they were most fortunate that Newcastle and Norwich imploded simultaneously at the season's end.

In truth, Sunderland deserved to relegate, but put in a decent run just at the very end of the season, enough to save them from the drop.

Indeed, up until just a few weeks ago, Norwich had a cushion of six-seven points, but have had a dreadful last few games until tonight, when pride, belatedly, made a fleeting appearance.



They are masochists, who enjoy dicing with the form of football death that is relegation, and who seem to derive unseemly pleasure in torturing themselves, and their long suffering fans.



Unfortunately, you are right. I worked in that region for a year, and this insanely intense rivalry always struck me as one of the more absurd elements of the region.

The rivalry has its basis in contracts one by the different area's. So for example if a big company was busy with lots of orders in Newcastle, there might be unemployment in Sunderland. Then vice versa.
At least that's how it was explained to me when I lived there. Similarly with Middlesborough, who of course have also won promotion.
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Why?
1. Based on how their fans behaved here when they played a friendly vs the Crew.

2. I used to play against a chap was from there and he was a Hammer and an asshat to boot!

3. Andy Carroll. nuff said.

Haters are gonna hate.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

The rivalry has its basis in contracts one by the different area's. So for example if a big company was busy with lots of orders in Newcastle, there might be unemployment in Sunderland. Then vice versa.
At least that's how it was explained to me when I lived there. Similarly with Middlesborough, who of course have also won promotion.
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Haters are gonna hate.

Well, when I asked about it, I was given an explanation about how the respective urban centres took opposite sides during the Civil War and that this served to explain the intensity of the enduring and deeply felt emotions!