West Ham United Season 2006-2007

PREMIER LEAGUE/COCA COLA CUP/FA CUP
= Dublin Hammers Meeting (Live on television). LP = League Position.

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES

20.07.06. Sweden. FC Trollhattan (a). 2-0.
Scorers: Collins, Ashton.
22.07.06. Sweden. IFK Gothenberg (a). 1-2.
Scorers: Zamora.
25.07.06. Sweden. Ljungskile SK (a). 3-1.
Scorers: Ashton, Zamora, Benayoun.
29.07.06. UK. Gillingham. (a). 2-1.
Scorers: Sheringham, Mullins.
01.08.06. UK. Cambridge Utd. (a). 4-0.
Scorers: Ashton, Noble, Cole, Reid.
04.08.06. Greece. Aris FC. (a). 2-2.
Scorers: Zamora, Harewood.
06.08.06. Greece. PAOK FC. (a). 1-2.
Scorers: Ashton.
12.08.06. UK. Olympiakos. (h). 1-1.
Scorers: Harewood.

AUGUST 2006

19th Charlton Ath. (h). 3-1. (zamora x 2, cole). LP:4th.
"West Ham set out their (attacking) stall early on and not waivering in their intent and commitment, but a feeling that the team simply picked up where it left off at the end of last season. Such is the optimism pervading at Upton Park that not even the loss of Dean Ashton and Matty Etherington - two of last term's most important players - could dent the positivity. Nor, significantly, did conceding the early goal through a penalty, though there was a touch of good fortune in that Danny Gabbidon did not receive his marching orders for stopping a goal bound shot with a arm; Darren Bent made no mistake from the spot", "A far post cross was flicked on to Zamora, who lashed home for the equaliser", "an excellent turn and dummy set up the space required for a pass to Zamora, whose mishit effort fooled the Charlton keeper and bounced in off a post for the second, Bowyer then span on the edge of the box and struck a post himself", "in the last minute, a clever ball over the defence put the ball nicely into the path of Carlton Cole, who raced away to tuck in the Hammers' third, just eight seconds into his debut". from OTT Website.

22nd Watford. (a). 1-1. (zamora). LP:1st.
“A somewhat lacklustre first half was made none the easier with the Hammers' obvious lack of width, and despite having what seemed to be a five man defence, Watford seemed to have us more on the back foot, especially the muscular Marlon King”, “It was he who eventually broke the deadlock, just after the hour, but the home side and their fans had no time to bask in the reflected glory of the first Premiership goal here for years, as Bobby Zamora grabbed his third goal of the season within a minute” from OTT Website.

26th Liverpool. (a). 1-2. (zamora). LP:4th.
"How many goals do the Hammers have to concede against Liverpool, before they learn to close the opposition down?", "Bobby Zamora's fourth goal of the season looked like giving the visitors to Anfield an interval lead, only for the Reds to come back just like they did in the F.A. Cup Final, to beat Roy Carroll twice in as many minutes", "There were little periods of the second half when West Ham looked as though they might have it in them to take something from the game, a Bowyer miss in particular ought to have yielded a better finish than the one he gave, whilst Sheringham's late cameo perked things up a bit", "Bellamy did put the ball in the net, only to be flagged offside". from OTT Website.

SEPTEMBER 2006

09th Aston Villa. (h). 1-1. (zamora).
"The team certainly did not have the look or swagger of the team which opened the new Premiership season so brightly", "Harewood had an easy chance to level the scores when the Villa keeper fumbled the ball to present him with the opportunity to open his account for this season. He missed", "Villa could have had the points in the bag by then, after hitting the bar and seeing Ferdinand clear another one off the line", "The second half was only a minute old when the Hammers won a corner, which was swept to the on running Konchesky. His powerful header fell to Zamora, who swivelled and struck the equaliser", "Petrov lobbed Carroll, only for Mears to make a spectacular goal line clearance", "Ferdinand thwarted them, this time beating three Villa players with alarming coolness to avert the danger", "The moment came on the hour, when Harewood made way for Tevez, to glorious acclaim from the Hammers' faithful. With half an hour to go, it was tailor made for him to turn the match on it's head and inspire the Hammers to victory. Real life turned out to be a bit different, though a couple of electrifying moments illustrated he has got the skill, power and technique to perhaps make a few fairy tales come true at Upton Park", "It was not to be this time, but his appearance, along with the returning Etherington, did turn the tide, and Villa - from being well on top in the first half - were firmly pushed onto the backfoot, and O'Neill will be content to have taken a point". from OTT Website.

14th Palermo. (h). UEFA Cup 1st Rd. 1st Leg. 0-1.
"The atmosphere in the ground at kick-off was good enough to revive memories of past glories on the European stage. First starts for Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez only added to the excitement", "Palermo never allowed the Hammers' pace to unsettle them, and were willing enough to surrender much of the possession, relying on a solid defensive strategy to deny anyone time and space twenty yards from their goal. It was not until the forty-third minute that they were significantly breached, when Tevez' quick, sharp effort after Zamora got in behind required a terrific, slightly fortunate save with his feet by the keeper", "Despite bossing the second half, and wisely putting on Etherington to inject some pace and guile out wide, Harewood came closest to getting a deserved equaliser when - soon after replacing Tevez - he hit the post following some excellent build up play", "Losing the home leg one-nil is a big blow, but it does mean that the Hammers have nothing to lose by adopting a more attacking approach in the return leg in a fortnight". from OTT Website.

17th Newcastle Utd. (h). 0-2.
"A third home match in a week, and the sum total of them is one goal scored, four conceded, one draw, two defeats, one point and a very big task if we are to progress in the U.E.F.A. Cup. The performances have taken a distinct downward turn in these matches and perhaps the introduction of Tevez in particular has been one of the main reasons for that. There is no doubting his talent, but he is obviously the sort of player who needs to be fit and sharp in order to be effective, and is not at that peak yet. It has also broken up what was a successful partnership between Zamora and Harewood, with the result that the latter's confidence - always apparently so waferthin - has been badly affected", "That much showed when he allowed himself to be distrated from the job at hand - getting the Hammers back into a game they were a goal down in at the time - by getting stupidly booked for needlesly retaliating after winning a free-kick; he was lucky not to be sent off for a reckless, petulant and late challenge on Given, which necessitated him going off" from OTT Website.

23rd Manchester City. (a). 0-2.
"West Ham may begin to draw some of that unwelcome spotlight after an astonishingly poor display", "City showed passion and passed the ball with penetration and ambition, the Hammers demonstrated none of these qualities", "All it seems is not well at Upton Park", "Neither Harewood or Zamora had one clear strike on Weaver's goal", "The Hammers just could not retain possession well enough to create the opportunites for their front two", "Tevez was introduced for West Ham, but to no effect". from The Sunday Times.

28th Palermo. (a). UEFA Cup 1st Rd. 2nd Leg. 0-3.
"A sooner than hoped for, and expected, exit from the U.E.F.A. Cup, with the only slight consolation being that Palermo are good enough to go on and win the competition", "Palermo absorbed an increasing amount of pressure as the first half went on, culminating in the Hammers missing at least two opportunities to score, with Cole and Harewood squandering chances, and once again, Palermo delivered a killer blow just before the break", "Still, a two-one win would've sufficed, but it was not to be, as Palermo tied it up with another two second half goals as the Hammers' confidence and energy wilted" from OTT Website.

OCTOBER 2006

01st Reading. (h). 0-1.
"Reading heaped pressure on former manager Pardew after inflicting a fifth straight defeat on struggling West Ham", "West Ham have not won since the opening day of the season, they have not scored in 488 minutes of football", "West Ham dominated the game but were restricted to long-range efforts", "West Ham were impotent in front of goal". from The Herald AM.

14th Portsmouth. (a). 0-2.
"Six consecutive defeats, and without a single goal in that time, that's nine hours, five hundred and forty minutes of football.", "The niggly start to the match - especially with Graham Poll in charge - inevitably led to the yellow cards being flourished", "The goal certainly put paid to the home crowds complaining, as Carroll seemed to forget about the ball and start appealing for a foul, while Kanu stuck it in the net", "It took almost an hour for anyone in a West Ham shirt to make David James do anything of note, though Konchesky's long range shot barely had the former Hammer breaking sweat", "A second Portsmouth goal loomed large, and when it eventually came, with a little less than ten minutes left, it was the sort of moment that had this been a boxing match, would have been the knockout blow; it was delivered by Andy Cole". from OTT Website.

21st Tottenham. (a). 0-1.
"A record busting seventh straight defeat, one which leaves the Hammers well and truly struggling in the relegation zone", "they failed to find the net again, another record which is just as alarming", "Spurs record this season is nothing special, but they found their path to victory here only too easy. Robert Green, on his debut, did well to stop Defoe during a fractious first half but was beaten on the stroke of half-time by a Mido skidder", "The lack of conviction in front of goal is certainly starting to worry fans now, and rightly so, there was a distinct feeling that once they had gone behind, there was no way back" from OTT Website.

24th Chesterfield. (a). Carling Cup 3rd Rd. 1-2. (harewood).
"Out of the Carling Cup, embarrassing not only for being at the hands of First Division Chesterfield, but because of getting into an early lead and throwing it away so carelessly and with such a lack of guile or fight", "The Hammers could hardly have got off to a better start, an early scare was averted by the quick reflexes of Robert Green, and a breakaway saw Marlon Harewood score with a terrific volley in the third minute", "a combination of the home side's sheer determination and the visitors' lack of self belief eventually brought it's reward. Larkin's equaliser was the turning point, because from that moment on it was all too obvious who was going to win. Folan's goal six minutes took Chesterfield through". from OTT Website.

29th Blackburn. (h). 2-1. (sheringham, mullins).
"About time, the first victory for the Hammers in nine matches, one which lifted them out of the bottom three, was very nearly thrown away in time added on as Blackburn scored one and should have had another. It also took a very dodgy decision to produce the Hammers' decisive second goal, but who cares about that right now? A win is a win...", "once they found their feet and began to assert themselves, there were definite signs of some sort of return to form. However, the lack of confidence in front of goal, stemming from five hours of Premiership football without one told, and a couple of chances that might have been converted, went begging", "Sheringham, who Pardew had said beforehand that he wanted to lead by example, did precisely that on twenty minutes, heading home a cross by Mullins", "Sheringham departed to a standing ovation and was replaced by Harewood, and in no time, he set up a great chance for Zamora, whose shot produced a corner for the Hammers (it should have been a Rovers' goal-kick), and Mullins stole in at the near post to score a second goal", "Rovers' never say die attitude brought it's rewards eventually, Bentley halving the deficit and only denying them a share of the spoils with a poor header in injury time" from OTT Website.

NOVEMBER 2006

05th Arsenal. (h). 1-0. (harewood).
"What a win, and what a disgrace Arsene Wenger was, childishly refusing to shake hands with Alan Pardew after the final whistle, and yet more pathetic shenanigans from their mob of sore losers; Lehman and Henry were the worst of them, prisy twats who do not know how to lose without bouts of petulance", "The solution for the Hammers lack of attacking options seemed to lay with bringing on Sheringham and Harewood, with - once again - the former providing their best moments in front of goal, often reducing Arsenal's somewhat makeshift defence to jitters. However, it was the latter who - with the ninety minutes all but up - finally made them, and Arsene Wenger - crack. Pardew's joy was perfectly understandable, unlike the all too familiar sulks exhibited by Wenger, who cetainly did see his counterpart's exuberant celebration following Harewood's winner" from OTT Website.

11th Middlesborough. (a). 0-1.
Picked up the usual nil pionts at the Riverside Stadium.

18th Chelsea. (a). 0-1.
Suppose 1-0 is a resonable score-line?

25th Sheffield Utd. (h). 1-0.
"Hayden Mullins' first half goal ensured the Hammers' new chairman, Eggert Magnusson, got his era at the club off to a winning start". from OTT Website.

DECEMBER 2006

03rd Everton. (a). 0-2.
Made loads of chances in the first half, didn't finish them!

06th Wigan. (h). 0-2.
We were Shite.

09th Bolton Wanderers. (a). 0-4.
We were Shite.

Alan Pardew is sacked by the West Ham Board. New manager Alan Curbishley is unvailed 2 days later.

17th Manchester Utd. (h). 1-0. (reo-coker).
Seems our team of 'Billy Big-Time' players were up for this one?
"Santa Claus might be coming to town, but as far as West Ham are concerned, he has arrived a week early, and given the perfect present; Alan Curbishley, followed by three vital points from a momentous one-nil win against Manchester United", "It is not a victory that was unmerited, as the Hammers displayed the sort of character, determination and sheer will that must have given Fergie a feeling of deja vu. "Obscene..." is how he described the team's performance when United were last beaten one-nil at Upton Park, but that was 15 years ago, when the Hammers were - as they are now - in the bottom three and struggling, while Fergie thought he was heading for the title. It was a Kenny Brown goal which did for them that night, and here again the decisive strike came from an unexpected source. Whether Nigel Reo-Coker's second half goal will prove as costly to Fergie's title ambitions this time around remains to be seen", "Can the result be put down to the arrival of Curbishley? Obviously not entirely so, but he showed a shrewdness of selection and tactics that come with experience at this level" from OTT Website.

23rd Fulham. (a). 0-0.
We should have won this one! Marlon hit the post when it was easier to score.

26th Portsmouth. (h). 1-2. (sheringham).
We could'nt defend two set-pieces!

30th Manchester City. (h). 0-1.
They scored in the last 5 minutes. We were Shite!