West Ham United Pre-Season Schedule 2002-2003

JULY 2003

News: Glen Johnson is sold to Chelsea.
15th Bournemouth (a) UK. 4-0 (hutchinson 2, cole, sinclair).
News: Trevor Sinclair is sold to Manchester City.
22nd Atvidaberg (a) Sweden. 5-2 (cole 2, sofiane, defoe 2).
24th Djurgardens (a) Sweden. 0-0.
29th Wycombe Wanderers (a) UK. 1-3 (kanoute).
News: Irish international David Connolly joins WHU from Wimbledon.

AUGUST 2003

01st PSV Eindhoven (h). 1-2 (garcia).
News: Robert Lee joins WHU from Derby.
News: Freddie Kanoute is sold to Tottenham,
Matthew Etherington joins WHU in part-exchange.
News: Joe Cole is sold to Chelsea.
News: Youngster Neil Mellor joins WHU from Liverpool on 1 year loan deal.

West Ham United Season 2003-2004

NATIONWIDE LEAGUE DIVISION ONE/CARLING CUP/FA CUP
= Dublin Hammers Meeting (Live on television). LP = League Position.

AUGUST 2003

09th Preston North End (a). 2-1. (Defoe, Connolly).
"And so it begins for a denuded West Ham, with a victory in which fortune played a healthy part. But at the same time they hinted they still have enough quality to see them straight back up", "James' first touch in the Nationwide League was to pick the ball out of his own net", "Half a yard of space was all Defoe needed to stroke an instant shot beyond Preston keeper Jonathan Gould", "Ricardo Fuller was far to skillful and quick for Repka, who was twice fortunate not to concede a penalty", "Etherington set Connolly into space, and the Irish International sped into the area as the defence struggled to get back, beating Gould with ease". The Sunday Times.

13th Rusden and Diamonds (h). 1st Rd.Carling Cup. 3-1. (Defoe, Connolly 2).
For the first 15 minutes we looked like world-beaters. Good running and sharp, incisive passing made it look like we were likely to score every time we pushed forward. We took the lead on 10 minutes. Sofiane's ball into the box was partially cleared by a defender to Connolly who had time to steady himself and put in an exquisite chip. The Diamonds' keeper may have just got a finger to the shot which came off the bar to Defoe who made no mistake from six yards", "Four minutes later we were two up. Connolly's attempt to feed Defoe came back to him and the Ant gathered the loose ball, ran at a defender before delivering a superb angled finish inside the far post", "We sat back and conceded territory for much of the match although we rarely looked much like conceding a goal", "Defoe did marvellously well to twist to get a shot in which the Rushden 'keeper could only parry out to Connolly who couldn't miss from a matter of feet". from KUMB Website.

News: Sebastien Schemmel is sold to Portsmouth.
News: Kevin Horlock joins WHU from Manchester City.

16th Sheffield United (h). 0-0.
"Excitement, goal mouth action, thirlls and spills, all the things football fans want to see, and none of them were on show at Upton Park as the Hammers opened their Nationwide home campaign", "Of the players left at the club now, few have ever experienced the bludgeoning, guile less style of play that the visitors exemplifed", "Jermain Defoe came closest to breaking the dead lock, picking up a great ball from Don Hutchison and cutting past three defenders to hammer a shot across the face of goal, it eluded everyone and rebounded back off the far post too quickly for Connolly to control the ball and direct it goalwards. It was not until the final five minutes, with three strikers on the pitch, that the visitors' goal came under any sustained pressure, but they somehow kept out a succession of corners to hold out for the draw that they came for". from OTT Website.

News: Young defender Matthew Kilgallon joins WHU on 3 month loan deal from Leeds Utd.

23rd Rotherham (a). 0-1.
"The West Ham boss upset his Rotherham hosts by allowing his players to change in their hotel rooms rather than in the sardine tin-style dressing rooms", "Don Hutchison does not think he can play out wide, and spent 45 minutes proving it. He was dumped at half-time while defender Anton Ferdinand was also put out of his misery", "The Millers outfought West Ham and out-played them", "West Ham's best effort saw Mike Pollitt push Jermain Defoe's free-kick on to a post", "Even 150 miles up the M1 from Upton Park, cries of sack the board rang out. So did a barrage of boos when the travelling army caught sight of their manager disappearing down the tunnel at the end". from The Sun Online

News: Glenn Roeder is sacked as West Ham manager.
Trevor Brooking takes over on a temporary basis.

25th Bradford City (h). 1-0. (Defoe).
"Caretaker Hammers boss Trevor Brooking weaved his magic again as a stunning Jermain Defoe strike got West Ham back to winning ways at Upton Park", "Defoe received the ball from Kevin Horlock and raced past three Bradford defenders before firing the ball into the bottom right-hand corner", "Hammers fans turned out in their thousands to support folkhero Brooking". The Star.

News: Trevor Brooking says "If Jermain Defoe goes, I go!".

30th Ipswich Town (a). 2-1. (Defoe, Connolly). LP:n6th
"West Hams brave use of an attacking formation gave them victory and rewarded caretaker manager Trevor Brooking's courage", "Defoe danced around Chris Makin on the right wing and then cut inside and hit an unreachable left-foot shot from the edge of the area. Brooking, normally so reserved allowed himself such an unrestrained touch-line celebration that he had to be ushered back to his technical area by the 4th official", "Connolly's pass sent Neil Mellor bearing down on goal for a shot that Kevin Davis blocked and Connolly, following up, volleyed in the rebound", "At the finish Brooking waved to the West Ham fans who were chanting his name". The Sunday Times.
WEST HAM UNITED: James, Repka, Pearce, Dailly, Kilgallon, Carrick, Horlock, Etherington, Connolly, Mellor, Defoe. (4-3-3).

SEPTEMBER 2003

News: WHU make official approach for Reading Manager Alan Pardew.
News: Reading deny Pardew the chance to talk to WHU.
News: Alan Pardew resigns as manager of Reading.
News: Niclas Alexandersson (Everton) and Wayne Quinn (Newcastle Utd) join WHU on 1 month loan deals.

13th Reading (h). 1-0. (Dailly). LP:3rd
"Christian Dailly's first goal for West Ham ensured the Hammers of a third consecutive win", "Trevor Brooking continued with the attack minded formation with three players up front, and the Hammers were rewarded when Wayne Quinn's overlapping run won them a corner. Defoe floated the ball into the area and Dailly met it with a firm header that a covering defender could not prevent hitting the back of the net", "Had Neil Mellor been a bit sharper in front of goal, the home side would already have been two goals to the good by then", "Defoe and Connolly both forced very good saves from the keeper with time running out, only for James to be in the right position to make an easy save of his own from a header that, had the Hammers' keeper not been where he was, would have seen the visitors equalise with the last touch of the game". from OTT Website.

16th Crewe (a). 3-0. (Connolly 2, Etherington). LP:2nd
"After the Hammers had weathered the early Crewe storm David Connolly struck to settle the visitors nerves", "Connolly's first came from nothing; a poor back pass let the Irish international in; he coolly rounded the keeper and a couple of defenders before slotting home to give the Hammers the lead", "His second was a typical poachers special; Horlock's ferocious free-kick was spilled by goalkeeper Ince and Connolly was on hand to pounce on the loose ball", "Etherington wrapped up the scoring when a fiercely struck shot from 25 yards flew into the top left hand corner of the net. It was a special way to get off the mark", "From then on it was plain sailing for the Hammers who were rarely stretched". from KUMB Website.

News:Reading commence legal action in order to prevent Alan Pardew joining WHU.
News:The Board announce that from 10th October, Alan Pardew will be the new manager of WHU. Reading drop legal action.

20th Gillingham (a). 0-2. LP:4th
"Brooking's men showed none of the swagger and confidence evident in recent games", "The Hammers went into today's game on the back of four straight wins - were never at the races today, having been outmuscled - and, quite frankly, outclassed - by a determined Gills side bent on recording their first competitive league win against West Ham", "To add insult to injury Jermain Defoe was sent off late on for a petulant outburst that will win him few friends amongst Hammers fans. Defoe saw red after verbally abusing the linesman for giving an offside decision against him. That earned him a straight red (despite him having already been booked for unsporting behaviour in the first half)", Brooking said "We take a lot of fans ourselves and it was a cup-tie atmosphere. But they had a greater desire than us and in the end we wilted". from KUMB Website.

23rd Cardiff City (a). 2nd Rd.Carling Cup. 3-2. (defoe 3).
"Jermain Defoe struck a stunning hat-trick to turn a lost cause into a sensational victory for West Ham", "His worth to the london club was clear in this blood and guts thriller as they overcame a 2-0 deficit to stun the welsh club", "The hard working Connolly got them back into contention a minute before half-time when he won a penalty which Defoe calmly slotted home", "Defoe's fierce shot was deflected home via defender Danny Gabbidon", "Defoe took a pass from Connolly and cleverly skipped past one defender before sealing that famous fight-back with a sharp drive". The Daily Star.

27th Millwall (h). 1-1. (connolly). LP:4th
"The first West Ham/Millwall derby for ten years ended in a stalemate thanks to Tim Cahill's late equaliser for the visitors - although in the end it was the Hammers counting themselves lucky to have taken a point from the game", "What will disappoint most is that the Hammers started so strongly, and could have been two or three up by half-time but for some profligacy in front of goal", "Rob Lee's superb through ball left Connolly through on goal; the Irishman twisted and turned past two defenders before coolly slotting home to the keeper's left", "Jermain Defoe was put through with just two minutes to go but instead of laying the ball back to a far better placed David Connolly opted to shoot from a near impossible angle wide to the left of Millwall's goal. The groans inside the ground from the home fans left Defoe in no doubt as to their feelings at his selfish choice". from KUMB Website.

OCTOBER 2003

01st Crystal Palace (h). 3-0. (defoe, mellor 2). LP:4th.
"Defoe - who was back on form after a disappointing display against Millwall - scored another brilliant individual goal to give the Hammers an early lead. Picking up on a poor back pass he dummied the keeper before scoring from a tight angle despite the close attention of two Palace defenders", "Neil Mellor doubled the Hammers lead with his first goal for the club. Etherington's deep cross was met at the far post by a fierce downward header from Mellor - whose enthusiastic celebrations confirmed how delighted he was to break his West Ham duck", "The on loan striker doubled his tally for the night - and the season - when, he latched on to a pinpoint pass across the 6-yard-box from Wayne Quinn. Despite claims of offside from Palace defenders the unmarked Mellor was allowed to slot the ball home at the far post.", "Jermain Defoe almost added a fourth for the Hammers on 78 minutes when a superb run culminated in a fierce shot which hit the wrong side of the post and bounced clear".
from KUMB Website.

04th Derby County (a). 1-0. (hutchinson). LP:3rd
Injuries and suspensions hit both sides, and neither really hit their stride to dominate the game, though the keepers each had to make crucial saves, with Oakes the busier of the two, particularly in denying David Connolly. However, with less than a minute of the ninety left, he could nothing about the well struck shot hit by substitute Don Hutchison from Wayne Quinn's corner. Whilst he might have had a few grumbles about the performance, there was no disguising the delight that Brooking felt about leaving Pride Park with the points which lift the Hammers into third place. "Overall we had some good chances and David Connolly could have had a hat-trick." he said, "Derby had a lot of confidence and for spells we were on the rack a bit and I think Derby can count themselves unlucky not to get something out of it. We didn't pass the ball well enough and we are very grateful to get the three points because we were stretched at times in the second half. The ball kept coming back at us and I put Hutch on because he holds the ball up well and then he came up with a great finish." from OTT Website.

News: Alan Pardew will officially take up his position as Manager from 22nd October.

15th Norwich City (h). 1-1. (own goal). LP:4th
"West Ham supporters were treated to a glimpse of the future last night, as a fit, well organised team lead by a bright manager outplayed a superior side on their own ground, and were unlucky not to secure a deserved win", "Disappointment over the result shouldn't overshadow the lesson learned last night. It'll be the well-organised teams that'll be in the promotion shake up in May, and that's why the services of Alan Pardew have been acquired". However it wasn't all bad... "The quality of the football produced during the first 30 minutes was certainly the best seen at Upton Park this season, and many in the crowd expressed a preference for this more expansive game in favour of the quick ball over the top that's been used to exploit the speed of the absent Defoe and Connelly". from KUMB Website.

18th Burnley (h). 2-2. (connolly, hutchinson). LP:5th
"Jermaine Defoe missed at least six clear-cut chances throughout the match", "It was Defoe however that forced Burnley keeper, Jensen to beat out a a shot which led to Connolly putting the Hammers ahead in the 21st minute", "Burnley seemed set for victory until substitute Don Hutchinson's volley four minutes from time"' "Alan Pardew wasted no time in checking whether his new charges have the heart for a quick return to the premiership". "We usually report in on sundays for a light session but the new boss is into modern techniques and has told us to stay at home and do a series of exercises with the heart monitors on" said David James, "We have to bring them back on monday so he can study the results and see what can be done to improve our performances". The Daily Star.

22nd Nottingham Forest (h). 1-1. (defoe). LP:4th
"Irishman Andy Reid had put the Hammers in trouble by giving Forest the lead with a wonder strike after only 4 minutes. Then he made a nonsense of that when he gifted West Ham their equaliser by giving the ball away when under no pressure", "Defoe got the goal on 51 minutes", "West Ham had most of the play but Forest impressed by the way thet kept their shape and discipline". The Daily Star.
"Alan Pardew had the stark realities of West Ham's stuttering home form laid out before him in all it's glorious shades of light and dark", "The near frantic pace which Pardew attempted to impose from the kick-off worked more in the visitors' favour, and they got off to a flier, when a brilliant run by Reid was rounded off with a goal that even had many of the home fans clapping in appreciation", "However, even after getting back level courtesy of a Jermain Defoe header, West Ham - although by then on the front foot - did not go on to dominate". from OTT Website.

News: West Ham have confirmed that they have completed the signing of Crystal Palace star Hayden Mullins.
News: Alan Pardew has made his second move in the transfer market inside 48 hours, signing Middlesbrough's Robbie Stockdale on loan, for a month.

25th Cardiff City (a). 0-0. LP:5th
"Despite the two sides conjuring 30 attempts on goal between them (13 to the home side and 17 to the Hammers) only 6 of those managed to hit the target, which meant a quiet afternoon for both goalkeepers - and plenty of frustration for both sets of fans", "It was Cardiff who came nearest to breaking the deadlock, when John Robinson's 65th minute strike beat David James - but not his far post. For the Hammers, Jermain Defoe went closest when he found the net with just 6 minutes left on the clock, but he was adjudged to have been narrowly offside". Pardew, speaking to reporters after the game said: "Cardiff also have good players and they could even be play-off contenders. The relegation (from the Premiership) has taken its toll on us and we really need two or three more players. I'm unbeaten after two games although I would dearly love to get my first victory". from KUMB website.

29th Tottenham (a). 3rd Rd.Carling Cup. 0-1 (AET).
"The interminable law of the ex haunted West Ham, as Hammer's fan and former youth teamer Bobby Zamora decided a closely fought derby in favour of Tottenham", "West Ham fans can hold their head up high as a greatly weakened team more than matched their supposedly superior neighbours only to be let down, not for the first time this season, by poor finishing and a lack of forward options", "West Ham should have opened the scoring, when Defoe followed up some excellent close control to release the onrushing Lee with a chip into the Spurs box. The veteran took one touch before guiding a left footed strike past Keller, only to see it rebound back to the keeper off the inside of the far post". from KUMB website.

News: Alan Pardew signs striker Brian Deane from Leicester City on a free transfer.

NOVEMBER 2003

01st Coventry City (a). 1-1. (defoe). LP:5th
"It was probably the right result, coming from two sides who lacked the necessary fire power to take all three points", "On his Hammers' debut, Brian Deane did nothing of note, and in spite of numerous corners, not once was one put in which gave him the chance to do what he does best, smash defenders out of the way as he bullets the ball into the net with his head", "Defoe's goal came at the end of the one concerted spell of pressure that Coventry were put under, they failed to get the ball out of their half for several minutes, and eventually, it fell to him and he slipped past the last line of defence to beat the keeper", "Repka - not for the first time - was caught out of position, allowing his man to get past him and cut the back across the face of goal, giving the scorer an easy tap-in from all of a yard out", "The second half was a litany of failure on both sides, and a more shambolic, haphazard, error strewn forty-five minutes of football is hard to recall". from OTT website.

08th West Bromich Albion (h). 3-4. (defoe, deane 2). LP:6th
"A seven goal match at Upton Park saw a remarkable turnaround, as West Ham went three-nil up inside fifteen minutes, but ended up losing four-three", "Etherington robbed a defender to set Defoe away to score from a tight angle with only twenty seconds on the clock, Hutchison doing likewise minutes later to set up Brian Deane for a second. Comical defending at a free-kick gifted Deane a free header inside the six yard box for the Hammers' third.", "But, as if trying to show that no matter how bad their defending was, they could see worse, Dailly dallied, and in nipped Hulse to poke it past the too late on the scene James", "The panic which suddenly spread throughout the Hammers' side was as palpable as the sensing of blood that just as suddenly spread throughout the Baggies". from OTT Website.
"Angry Alan Pardew threatened to dump the West Ham super-flops", "I intend to go places with this club and if the players don't want to come with me I'll bring in some who do". The Daily Star.

22nd Watford (a). 0-0. LP:9th
"David James pulled off a superb save in the first half to keep a volley from Devlin out, but West Ham dominated the first 45 minutes", "Watford had the better of the second half", "We are not a million miles away and I do believe we can get in the play-offs with this team, but to win automatic promotion we need more bodies" - Alan Pardew The Star.

News: Striker Marlon Harewood joins West Ham from Nottingham Forest for £500,000.

25th Wimbledon (a). 1-1. (deane). LP:9th
"West Ham's run without a win stretched to 9 games as Alan Pardew's men produced yet another abject display against bottom club Wimbledon. And but for some sterling work by keeper David James it could have been even worse", "Brian Deane put the Hammers ahead just six minutes after the break when he neatly converted a low cross from Kevin Horlock", "That goal received strangely muted recognition from the 2,000+ travelling Hammers faithful; perhaps they knew what lay ahead. As for the umpteenth time this season the Hammers threw away a lead when they allowed McAnuff to equalise from close range 12 minutes later. The Hammers rearguard failing to deal with a Patrick Agyemang cross". from OTT Website.

29th Wigan (h). 4-0. (horlock, og, harewood 2). LP:7th
"Two up after twenty minutes, thanks to an early goal by Kevin Horlock and an own goal, the Hammers could not rest easy, and it was not until the third goal had gone in after the visitors were reduced to nine men that the victory looked in any way secure", "If there were sighs of relief from and for Alan Pardew, there were whoops of delight at the performance of new signing Marlon Harewood. Making his home debut, he had a big part in both opening goals, and went on to score the two in the second half. Lively and strong, as well as fleet of foot, he has all the makings of an Upton Park hero". from KUMB Website.