Dublin Hammers Meetings - Season 2013-2014
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th May, 2014
DUBLIN HAMMERS AGM.
The meeting it self was a short one as we only had the room booked for one hour. About 15 to 18 members where in attendance.
The first thing to happen, as per all other AGM's, was for club treasurer Jimmy to go through our finances. Then Liam took the floor to thank the committee for all their work over the past season, he also thanked Dessie for his collection's and Paul for all his work on the Dublin Hammers web site and Facebook page. Then the floor was handed over to Tom, our travel secretary, who got praise from Chairman Eddie for all his hard work. After Toms report, the committee was dissolved. A new committee was elected and "hey ho" the same committee was elected again!
The floor was opened to questions and there was not too many to deal with. Members where asked again when traveling to London that they must be UK members, Tom told us that West Ham Utd are turning away from paper ticketing to electronic ticketing with a view to the Olympic Stadium.
When the meeting came to an end all members who attended where invited down stairs for a free pint!
So that's about it until August, keep an eye on the website for our first meeting of the 2014/15 season and I hope you all have a good summer and to see you soon.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 13th May, 2014
MANCHESTER CITY 2 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
Another season comes to a close and BFS celebrates the highest number of clean sheets he has ever recorded as a manager – WOW!!!! Man City didn’t look overly worried by that record as they bombarded our goal from the start. I sincerely hope that BFS pays Tomkins, Reid, Linda McCartney, Adrian and Joey O’Brien double wages this week as they certainly earned it. The stats for the game tell it all – City had 28 shots but only 7 on target. Meanwhile we had 3 shots with none on target – Andy Carroll for England! City had 68% possession and let us have the ball for the remainder.
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Anyway there was a very good attendance at this our last game of the 2013/14 season that saw us end up 13th in the table on the magical 40 points. A number of Londoners joined us as we watched our favourite team attempt to stem the tide of probably the best midfield/forward line in Europe – a team that refuses to live up to the sum of their talents. Inevitably they scored one in each half, the first after nearly 40 minutes of frantic defending when Kevin (I’m not as quick as I used to be) Nolan failed to close down Nasri who struck from 25 yards out. The second, within the first few minutes of the restart, from a corner that saw the ball fall kindly to Kompany who scored from close range.
There were loads of wisecracks from the assembled supporters – most concerning our Gary and his passport problems, he had to sleep in the airport on the way back from the last game and apparently the airport workers are still traumatised by the experience.
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Spurs won the Spot the Ball so at least they can claim they won something this season. Gerry (I’ll do it if no one else will) Nolan was on hand to collect the Free Trip monies. In fact we have to say a well done to Gerry and both Eddie Cox’s who stepped up to the plate in the absence of Secretary, Liam McDonagh and Treasurer, Jimmy Conway. Eddie was on hand at half time to let us all know that the AGM is on Monday, 19th May at 8.00pm and your presence as a Dublin Hammer is expected.
The sambos arrived and were horsed down and we all sank a few refreshments.
There was a terrific sing song of all the old classics – Bubbles (all versions), Ludo, Christian Daly etc. In fact, but for the football it was a great day out! Ambassador Alan brought along his new girlfriend who obviously misunderstood when he told her he supported West Ham UNITED as she sported a Man Ure jersey. Tales from the recent trip were told and it seems the new hotel location got the thumbs up from all who travelled.
Here’s to next season and I hope we try and play the beautiful game at some stage throughout the season rather than the dour rubbish that West Ham United serve up as entertainment. Big Sam for Man Ure!!
Report by Gerry Murtagh.
Dublin Hammers Trip - 4th May, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 2 vs TOTTENHAM 0.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th April, 2014
WEST BROMICH ALBION 1 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
I am fooling myself... why do I put myself through it week after week? I can't see us winning another match this season, saying that we only have two more to go. This game was away to WBA and like the previous three games we lost it.
We had an alright first half and maybe could have had one or two goals, but on 11 minutes WBA took the lead and went on to keep it at that until the end. The second half was a sham, West Ham, as in the game against Place could not hold on to the ball and didn't look like they had a clue how to break down the opposition.
Carrol did have a header against the cross bar but we had very little to offer up front and to cap it all, Big Sam takes off the two wingers, brings on the two Cole's and lumps the ball from back to front.
The talk at the meeting was about Saturdays trip to the Spurs game, I am a little disappointed I won't be on the trip as the craic is always great, but I don't think I will miss the football on offer. I know my reports are getting shorter and shorter but what can you say when you look at pure shite every week! Here is a link you can mull over before our next match...
Good luck to all the lads heading to London this weekend, don't forget your passports and have a pint for me.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 26th April, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 0 vs CRYSTAL PALACE 1.
This meeting saw the visit of Crystal Palace to Upton Park, there wasn't a great turn out but it was good to see Malcolm and Mick Brennan both back in Dublin for the Easter Weekend. Word had reached us that our Secretary Liam who was attending the match itself had three visits to Dublin Airport before flying to London and this is how it paned out...
1. He forgot his Passport.
2. After catching a cab home he brought his wife's Passport back to the Airport.
3. Yes, third time lucky he manages to get going with the right Passport in hand.
Liam you can thank Craig for that story. Now onto the Match on a day that saw a tribute payed to young Dylan Tombides who lost his fight to cancer the day before... you would think that West Ham would have shown some passion and fight. This match was pure and utter SHIT, the second half was so disappointing we are...... how do I put this?... I can't put it into words, maybe a rudderless ship, who knows? I certainly don't anymore. Oh by the way we lost the game by one to nil.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 15th April, 2014
ARSENAL 3 vs WEST HAM UTD 1.
It's got to the stage that a blind man and his dog could put a team out to beat West Ham these days. It's getting very predictable, one man up front, hit the ball long, play a winger or two but don't commit more than three or four players into the oppositions half and sometimes none at all. In two years time the Hammers will be leaving Upton Park and if big Sam is still in charge it means no more passing football, no more players of outstanding skill will play at the Boleyn.
The meeting was attended by enough members to fill a spot the ball and Paddy Rogers won it. West ham took the lead when our 10 million man Mr Jarvis heads in from close range. The lead was short lived as Arsenal leveled it four minutes later.
Half time and Fran leads a beer mat firing squad on the little Sam figure (two weeks ago it was darts being thrown at it), none of the beer mats hit their target. In the second half West Ham decided to gift Arsenal two more goals (shocking defending for both). Liam asked Gerry "I'll do if nobody else will" Nolan to collect money for the free trip draw on Saturday if we are on T.V as there might not be any committee members in. Gerry who is on the committee picked up a hat he found behind the bar, threw in onto the ground and danced around it in protest, very strange indeed.
As the match drew to a close, Dessie asked Fran "over the past ten years or so, who was the best Manager West Ham had?", Frans reply was Pardew. Dessie wasn't to happy with that and a debate started between the two over it. I can't remember the outcome but if West Ham are to make it as a top flight club when they move to the Olympic stadium, it wont be with Big Sam at the helm or with the current squad in tow.
I will still come into the meetings when possible as I am West Ham through and through like the rest of you but the football on offer is hard to stomach COYI the Boleyn is watching.
Report by Brian Madden.
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The Presidents View... Not the worst performance. Some football played which seems to happen more away from home. 9 attempts on goal which is more than the last 3 home games put together. Our star centre forward did his best work in his own half. S.A.S! |
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 6th April, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 1 vs LIVERPOOL 2.
West Ham versus Liverpool, this was an eagerly anticipated fixture (according to Sky anyway) that brought out a good attendance on a sunny Sunday afternoon. As we all took up our positions, David informed me that he had put money on Downing to score the first goal. My initial reaction was to try and find out what hallucinogenics he was taking! It transpired that it was one of many bets on first goalscorer.
Anyway the game kicks off and we hoof the ball out to Downing who is playing on the left wing! Always a good idea to play a left footed player on the left. Downing gets to the end line and crosses to the invisible hobbit in the area as opposed to Andy ‘6 foot plus’ Carroll. It signalled the shape of things to come from this muppet!
As the game progresses it’s clear that we have our usual game plan in place as we thump balls forward in the hope that Carroll can get something out of it. Our development into West Ham Wanderers under BFS is now complete as we look to beat teams up as opposed to beat them with the ball. I’m sure our Academy are looking to scrap this notion of playing with the ball and are instead studying the tactics of the Donegal and Tyrone GAA teams for hints on coaching methods. There was a rumour that Lionel Messi was looking to play in and around London next season but BFS has said that he has no room for some “two footed nancy boy who is happy to be small, quick and talented” and has instead asked Dr Frankenstein if he can develop another “monster” for our midfield!!
Anyway a blatant handball by Tomkins gifts Liverpool their opener from the penalty spot. We equalise as Andy “Tyson” Carroll clocks the keeper and Demel is so shocked he hits the ball into the net. What was funny was the ref and linesman discussing the incident while it’s on the big screen around the ground.
Half time and things are so bad that there’s no speech from Liamo, a “few” sambos and I didn’t win the Spot the Ball! Laimo was busy doing Jimmy Conway’s job (off again at the rugger were we!?!).
The second half doesn’t get any better. Liverpool bring on Lucas – a man that could have played for Donegal. Meanwhile we take off the very ineffective Nolan and bring on the equally ineffective “Gordon Darcy lookalike” Nocerino. A number of changes are made but in fairness this was a dull game played by one team who can’t play and another who can but didn’t bother.
A second peno – a harsh decision but we reckon the ref saw his howler of a decision he made while buying a pint in under the stands at half time. Gerrard steps up and buries it... again! Jarvis comes on and shows that useless stocking Downing how to cross a ball, but Liverpool double up on Carroll and we fail to make any impact.
Finally the ref puts everyone out of their misery and blows up. This is getting harder to watch and you can feel the frustration from those attending as they sit/stand through 90 minutes of pointless plodding.
Report by Gerry Murtagh.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 31th March, 2014
SUNDERLAND 1 vs WEST HAM UTD 2.
Considering the absolute shite West Ham have been subjecting us to lately the turn out for this meeting was excellent as a good 20 members gathered in the downstairs bar. Upstairs our usual haunt was occupied by some kind of political meeting… all 8 of them?
This meeting had an atmosphere of what I can only describe as "resigned aggression" which became steadily worse as the game progressed. "Resigned" as in… yes we are West Ham so we have to watch this crap and "aggression" as in… surely you mugs can do better than this?
The game started with Sunderland pinning us back, then 10 minutes into the game, a cross comes into the Sunderland box and AC towers above everyone to put us one up! Then we sit back and defend, thankfully Sunderland are shite and with Poyet leaving Adam Johnson on the bench(?) they struggle to create any clear cut chances. They were unlucky as Nolan got away with a clear handball.
Towards the end of the first half 3 lads walked into the bar and asked the Club Sec. (in an accent it has to be said) "what football tournament are you watching" (football tournament WTF?) "Want to join the Dublin Hammers" the Club Sec. asks them… "No thanks" he says… "Allez Le Bleu" says the Club Sec… as the lads head for the door, your man says… "I'm Welsh"… everyone within earshot then collapsed laughing.
Back to the game… a slight unrest was starting to brew as West Ham struggled to pass the ball. Noble, Downing and AC were the only players were weren't starting to take some stick.
At half time the political meeting upstairs ends and they head off into the night to take over the world… we head up and take up our usual seats. The second half starts and now that we were among ourselves and have had a few drinks the Presidents S.N.A (Support Not Abuse) Campaign went out the window and members started to vent their feelings… I've heard that the film "The Wolf of Wall Street" contains more swear words in an hour and a half than any other movie… I'd wager that we put that total to shame in those 45 minutes! The President surveyed the scene shaking his head at regular intervals.
Even when Diames shot was deflected in for our second the riotous behavior continued… Downing missed a great chance after doing all the hard work and then finally Poyet got Johnson and Gardner on. Within minutes Johnson pulled one back. They rallied, but BFS countered by putting on our defensive powerhouse Wwwoger Johnson and we hung on for the 3 points!
So, 6 points from our last 2 games, hopefully we should be safe from relegation, why were we not happy? I can only imagine that after weeks of watching the BFS shite-fest our frustrations got the better of us and were released… and I have to say it was a great craic!
Report by Paul Smith.
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The Presidents View... Important win against a struggling Sunderland team. Game proves team is set up not to lose rather than win, home and away. Hence the poor performances at home when expectations are higher. Booooooo!!!!! |
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 26th March, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 2 vs HULL CITY 1.
Let's see... is there anything good I can say about this meeting? Yes, its always good to get together with fellow hammers and it was good to see a new face amoung us, 'Nick Fallon' from Chicago, USA. Nick is over here working and a Hammers fan. Will Nick be back into see us? Who knows? If it was the football on offer "NO" if it was the craic well "YES".
The match... Oh dear, we were without a signal for the first 20 minutes of the game, when the signal came back West Ham where preparing to take a peno. From the replay you could see that Diame handled the ball before the keeper took him down. The ref waved it away, but then the linesman gave it . The ref called play back and sent the keeper off. Noble scored and I was thinking to myself, "lets go and take the game to Hull and put a few goals past them." But this is West Ham under BFS and it was Hull that took the game to us.
The second half saw two more goals. A deflected free kick saw Hull draw level and the winner came from an own goal by Hull's James Chester. West Ham were shite, I know a win is a win and I'm thankful for the 3 points, but Big Sam is not the man to take us forward... a quote from the London Metro said "West Ham had all the shape and structure of a jellyfish and the attacking threat of a jellybaby".
One thing I noticed at the end of the game was the booing from the ground and the silence from the Dublin Hammers after what they had just witnessed.
Report by Brian Madden.
The Presidents View.
Inept performance against ten men. On this occasion fortune did not hide.
Regards, The President.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 22nd March, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 0 vs MANCHESTER UTD 2.
A well attended meeting, everyone in good form, Hi to Øyuind from Bergen in Norway, hope he enjoyed himself in our company, however like the rest of us I'm sure he didn't enjoy the West Ham performance!
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The day started on a bizarre note with the TV showing pictures of BFS winning the 'Manager of the Month' award for February. A bitter sweet pill.
And so to the match… the usual Big Sam fare… slow build up… ball into the box… ball pinging about in an endless game of head tennis… man utd clearing.
Then half way through the first half, Rooney turned Tomkins on the half way line… was it a foul, a soft one if so… takes a long shot at goal… the ball sails through the air, over Adrian's head and bounces into the net. A great goal!
So, how would we react? Ah, by defending poorly! Shortly after the goal, Noble tried to clear from inside the box, but his clearance lacked elevation and hit an onrushing Rooney and went straight into the goal… 2-0!
Not a lot to say about the second half, both teams huffed and puffed… then came BFS Plan B… bring on Carlton Cole and hit the ball longer… suffice to say, Moyes had his tactics right and I can't remember one goal scoring opportunity for the Hammers.
Disappointing, as we usually give them a game at Upton Park, but not this time. Results around us went our way, but we are sinking again… we were unlucky against Stoke last week I thought, need a win against Hull, but if we play like we did today it will be 3 points to the tigers!
Report by Paul Smith.
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The Presidents View... Summary; 62nd minute. Kick out to Man Utd. De Gea decides to go long. Launches the kick past the half way line into W.H.U. half. The ball is met with a towering header by Andy Carroll (centre forward) who has retreated back into his own half to contest the kick out. The ball returns to the Man Utd half where there are no W.H.U. players. At home... One shot on target... No ideas... No pride... No points... No argument! |
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 1st March, 2014
EVERTON 1 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
The Presidents View.
Conceding possession and allowing shots at goal as a result of that does not always work.
Regards, The President.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 22nd February, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 3 vs SOUTHAMPTON 1.
So far February has been good to West Ham , 3 wins in a row, could we make it 4 with a win against Southampton? The turn out for this meeting was just enough to sell a spot the ball, which yours thoroughly won. Ireland where playing the egg chasing game which may have kept one or two away or maybe it was the Saturday shopping?
The game was only 7 minutes old when Tomkins fouls Lallana, from the resulting free kick Yoshida heads his first Premier League goal. So Adrian won't have a clean sheet in this game, then in the 20th minute Nolan plays a ball over the top for Jarvis, the lines man keeps his flag down and Jarvis puts into the net.... "thats the best £10 Million we ever spent (12 Million Euros)" I think I heard Liam shout out.
Three minutes later and we are at it again, we win a corner, Carlton Cole heads the ball against the left post and the rebound finds Cole again... his left footed shot finds the bottom right hand corner of the net 2-1... the pints (Gussiness) are now tasting even better. We are playing well but we can't afford to take it easy and with 32 minutes on the clock Rickie Lambert heads against the post.
We get to half time 2-1 in front. Gary and Tommy are talking bets 2-1 no 3-1 I have 4-1 who knew lets hope one of them win. The second half kicks of with Carlton Cole still on the pitch... first time that's happened in a few matches. Southampton have a good away record so we are expecting a backs-to-the-wall performance by the Hammers (as in previous games)... and they did come at us, we soak it up for 10 minutes or so. Big Sams first change was Diame on for Jarvis on the hour mark.
West Ham are holding their own so its time for a pint... me and Gerry Nolan head down stairs. The egg chasing is on on all the big TV's down stairs so while ordering our pints we keep an eye on the small TV in the corner, West Ham are on the attack and low and behold Nolan makes contact with the ball while falling backwards and hits the ball into the bottom corner... 3-1 to the cockney boys! Not long after his goal Nolan is subbed for Reid and West Ham go on to see the game out and win 3-1... and Tommy won his bet!
February has been good to us, not so for Ireland, they got beaten by England in the egg chasing 13-10... just imagine scoring 10 goals away for home and still getting beaten.
We head down stairs for one or two more pints for the road and met up with a few people visiting from Manchester and one girl from Ashton near Oldham. I got talking to the Lovely Bev, her hubby and their friends from Birmingham and the craic was good with Gary bamboozling them with facts about West Ham vs Birmingham games over the years. A good day was had by all, Jimmy recons we need 9 more pints to be safe, we should be on the box next week against Everton so lets hope we can keep picking up the points. Hope to see you all soon, keep an eye on the website and our Facebook page for up coming matches.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 8th February, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 2 vs NORWICH CITY 0.
OK, let me start by saying that I am delighted to get the three points from this game, but I honestly feel that Norwich were mugged on the night. They should have gone straight to a Police Station to report it!
A poor attendance (considering the importance of this game) gathered upstairs in Brannigans for the kick off; which was delayed because Brian “Techie” Madden changed the channel on the TV. Liamo let him know in his usual way that this was not a wise thing to do! The President brought in a short quiz which was completely and correctly answered by Craig McDonagh.
From the early stages of the game it was obvious that we lacked real cohesion in the side. We booted the ball forward in hope rather than any kind of plan. Big Carlt made a nuscience of himself, but his limited ability didn’t help when he actually got the ball. Our passing in midfield was abysmal (told you I could spell it!) and we continually gave Norwich possession of the ball.
During the first half they created the better chances and but for a few top drawer saves from Adrian, late interceptions from Tomkins (who is getting better each game) and Collins we would have gone in at the break behind. The few chances we “created” upfront were not worth mentioning. Mind you I was surprised that the half time stats showed we had more possession – that’s a first with WHU under Allardyce.
The sambos arrived and we requested less egg mayo ones in future for obvious reasons. There was a general discussion on the games and attendances and Ambassador Alan set out his vision of the future, DH seating arrangements but there were any number of attendees saying who they wouldn’t sit beside or behind (see egg mayo request!). The general consensus seemed to be sit where you like.
The second half saw Norwich take more control of the game as they played some good football and again faced a keeper that pulled off a number of good stops. Meanwhile, we continued to boot the ball towards their goal in hope. We figure that Allardyce is the type of manager that works on the old adage that if you pump enough balls into their box you’ll eventually get something. And so it proved, with just 6 minutes to go a cross following a quick free kick saw Collins head home as Ruddy (who had been excellent at crosses all night) hesitated. We went wild. Straight away Big Sam is holding up both hands with the fingers raised giving some kind of instruction on formation – was it 10 at the back?? The SAS campaign were getting pains in their knees as they stood up and sat down every few minutes.
Norwich pushed for an equaliser and we had to do some desperate defending. The board goes up to say 4 minutes additional time and we start to chew our nails. Into the last minute and a clearance from a corner sees Diame get the ball and bear down on goal. His shot takes a wicked deflection and sees the ball trickle into the corner as Ruddy dives the other way. 2-0 and we know it’s all over.
Gary is delighted to have bet on the same 2-0 scoreline for years with West Ham to see his luck come in three games running! Shadow Secretary, Tony turned up during the second half – it was good to see him back amongst the fold following his recent illness. Mind you the electronic cigarette is well over the top!! The next game will see Big Sam change his tactics as the team will boot the ball down the left side of the pitch rather than the right!
Report by Gerry Murtagh.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 8th February, 2014
ASTON VILLA 0 vs WEST HAM UTD 2.
West Ham had a battle on their hands before they even turned up for this game. With the Andy Carrolls red card appeal NOT being over turned and the 3 match ban upheld. So big Sam would play Carlton Cole up front and Adrian was to get the nod in goal again after two clean sheets, a no brainer really.
A good crowd turned out for this 3 o'clock kick off in Brannigans with one or two of the younger Dublin Hammers in tow. The match hadn't started when two new faces wandered into the room... "Hello, I don't know you" came the call from our lovable secretary Liam. The two lads in question were a Hammers supporter and a Villa supporter, they had been at Dublin airport on the way to the match when Ryan Air cancelled their 11.30am flight due to technical difficulties and rescheduled it for 5.30pm. The lads where asked to take a seat and so the match began and straight away the Hammers go on the attack.
Early on we saw Jarvis being put in down the line, he played the ball first time across the box for Downing at the back post only for him to miss under pressure from Bertrand the Villa defender who managed to wrap himself around the post. Then we saw Jarvis receive a ball over the top and run at goal only to put it into the side netting. West Ham dominated the first half, I can only remember Villa having one good chance from Westwood who put the ball inches wide.
Half time and sambos, a chat of how we wasted goal scoring chances in the first half, Liam was not happy about Jarvis and how much money we spent on him. It was good to see Alan Corr back from his Australian trip he had come into the game with about 20 minutes on the clock, a few of the older members sang Welcome Home, a Peters and Lee hit back in the day and the younger members looked on with dazed faces, they never heard that one before!
The second half saw a change, Cole off and Borriello on from the kick off the ball found its way out to Downing on the right wing he played the ball into the box for Nolan to back heel it into the net and just then the TV siginal went down! It took about two to three minutes for the signal to come back... we heard Trevor Francis say that Nolan was on a hat trick. A big cheer went up as we looked to see West Ham 2 - 0 up, the replay showed Kevin Nolan rob the ball from Delph on the edge of his box and slot it past Guzan, two goals in two games for Nolan, what a hero, I always liked that lad, ha ha !!!
Aston Villa at 2 - 0 down came at us, so much so that Big Sam threw on Reid as the extra defender. Albrighton took a shot from outside the box, it hit the upright and came back and hit Adrian's foot and loop over the crossbar, a big gasp went up from the Dublin Hammers Supporters. Villa were knocking on the door and it was a case of backs to the wall for the West Ham players. Albrighton crossed the ball from the left into the box for Benteke to meet it with his head and hit the crossbar, another let off for the Hammers. With ten minutes to go Benteke had an overhead kick that went just over the bar. West Ham held out for another win with a clean sheet.
Thats four goals in two games for Kevin Nolan, our top goal scorer from last season, lets hope he can keep on scoring!! Our next match is Tuesday night vs Norwich at home, another must win game as from tenth down it is very tight and we need to be picking up as many points as possible, to steer clear of the bottom three. Hope to see you all again for Tuesday's match.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 29th January, 2014
CHELSEA 0 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
The Dublin Hammers were served up to some 19th century football or so Jose Mourinho said. This meeting saw a big attendance, it was a good sight to see after our last few televised games which saw ever decreasing numbers to only eight members last Tuesday, to see our second leg match vs Man City in the League Cup. This meeting also saw the free trip draw with five trips up for grabs.
OK... it's up for debate... West Ham did 'park the bus'... should they have played a more open game? well, if that was the case, then you hand Chelsea the game on a plate. I for one was glad to see us play the way we did, our players put on a great defensive display and Adrian was on top form.
I wont go into the game as with the big attendance at this meeting we all know what happened... Angela Murphy screaming when Ramires just shot wide... Liam showing the Chelsea supporter the door before kick off... the SAS (Stand Against Sam) protest came to a grinding halt... and over seven minutes of nail biting extra time.
At half time Liam called for everyones attention for the free trip draw, we had a spread sheet showing all the runners and riders in the draw thanks to Jimmy. The odds on favourite was Gerry Nolan with 31 tickets in the hat, I had 21 myself and I did see members with 25, 26 and 28 tickets in the hat. So who won the free trips? Well Gerry Nolan didn't even make it out of the starting gate, the trips went to Jimmy Conway, Liam McDonagh, Gary Purdy, Kevin Murphy and Brendan Shiels.
The second half was another backs to the wall display as Chelsea threw everything but the kitchen sink at us. Adrian kept us in the game with some great saves especially when in the 97th minute when he saved from Lampard's fierce shot a real heart stopping moment. After the game Mourinho came out and said West Ham didn't make a game of it, what did he expect. Under Mourinho how many times have Chelsea ground out defensive boring results?... "Up your arse, up your arse, we'll stick the blue flag up your arse, from Stamford Bridge to Upton Park... we'll stick the blue flag up your arse".
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 21st January, 2014
WEST HAM UTD 0 vs MANCHESTER CITY 3.
Semi Final Capital One Cup - 2nd Leg
We all knew it would be an impossible task to get anything out of this game except maybe some pride, but unfortunately we can’t even take that from the night. I arrived late to be greeted by the news that we were already 2-0 down. It was the lowest attendance upstairs in Brannigans since our famous victory over Man Ure years ago when Johnny Spector scored a hat trick – only eight of us could face the game.
Anyway, what can we say about the game itself... the less the better. We were absolutely shocking in all areas of the pitch. I didn’t even realise Nolan was on the pitch until the second half! Carroll threw himself about without causing anyone any real trouble. We hardly got a kick of the ball all night and when we did manage to get it we gave it back to City far too easily.
There were no encouraging words from Liamo at half time so we had to come up with our own amusement.
Gary suggested we emulate the West Ham team, arranging two bar stools as a goal, he grabbed a broom and proclaimed himself sweeper, someone else said he was Nolan and tried to kick a couple of the other members. The rest of us limped around the room as the back four! It was 5 seconds of madness and a classic Dublin Hammers momment. Bored with that we grabbed the high stools and arranged them in a back six. We then put two small stools, one representing Joe Cole, the other Noble, placed them one on top of the other to make a new striker!
Then we discussed what changes Pelligrini would make in the dressing room at half time... some new tiles on the wall and a bigger bathroom were the popular answers. In short, we were bored and depressed! Hopefully the CCTV didn’t pick up our furniture rearranging or they’ll think we’ve completely lost the plot!!
The second half saw City take it easy, but we still couldn’t manage a descent strike on target. Carlton was on for Carroll so it was more of the same hoof and hope football that has made Big Sam the manager that he is. We chatted away keeping on eye on the tv, story of the night goes to the club secretary who along with Tommy had gone over to the Newcastle game. They were sitting at the bar in a pub when in came a dad and his two sons all decked out in Arsenal gear. One of the lads who was around seven got up into the seat next to Liam, then leaned back into him and cheekily whispered "going down"... we all collapsed laughing as Liam re-enacted what happened next, I think the term was "lifted him out of it" in a style only our club secretary can do! I particularly liked the line about Arsenal not winning anything in your lifetime... The kids father was cool and of the opinion that "you opened your mouth, you get on with it". I'd say that lad won't be doing that again for a while!
The final score of 3-0 gave us a chance to slag City that they’re not good enough to get double figures against us etc. We reckoned if we had even got one goal the entire City team would be in therapy today... and good luck to you finding a Spanish speaking therapist in Manchester!
The official attendance was 14,390, but in truth it looked nowhere near that on the TV? I was told that the admission was £42 for adults and kids for a quid. Were they having a laugh asking you to fork out that amount on a ticket to a nothing game and also subject your child to it. They’d be on to Childline within the hour claiming parental abuse!
As usual an entertaining evening, shame about the football!
Report by Gerry Murtagh and Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 8th January, 2014
MANCHESTER CITY 6 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
Semi Final Capital One Cup - 1st Leg
Having beaten off stiff opposition from the other contributors to this website for the pleasure of writing this report, here goes…
Ummmm… errrrrr… the fat fuck!
OK, following our club secretaries surprise example last night, lets try to be positive here. Let me start by saying thank goodness for the company of you lot in these desperate times of supporting West Ham. I still managed to enjoy myself in your company while watching that game last night. I have not the heart to go into detail on the match, we were never in the running to win it, but the manner of the performance was, shall be say "somewhat disappointing" Those of you that witnessed it know the story, so instead, I have decided to vent my feelings by re-writing my email from Big Sam, received this morning, the day after the event...
Dear Paul,
Many teams have gone to Manchester City but, unlike us, they were set up correctly, well managed and played with some heart, thus suffering a less painful time of it. It's hard to accept, but the facts are that Manchester City are the best team in the league at home and have been the best team in the league since the start of the season. We all knew they were very, very good and I made sure my players knew just how much better they were before the game, "be scared" I said, "they are far to good for us" I said, "the cups mean fuck all" I said. I wanted to make sure they were up for it!
What we have to do now is play with no strikers, get more defenders back in the team, defending like we know we can, poorly, and pray for a miracle. We have got to improve our clean-sheet ratio stats so I can talk bollocks at every press conference. Once we start doing that, we'll drive more of our loyal support away but maybe start winning more points and hopefully I won't lose my job.
The players can't feel sorry for themselves. They are highly paid professionals, me especially, and they've got to take the criticism thrown at them because that's what happens when you have a tactically inept manager. They've got to be man enough to take it on the chin and be determined enough to show people that we really are not too good to go down.
You either come out fighting or you sink and die - I come out fighting as a manager and my staff and players are the same. I also talk absolute shite whenever I have the chance. We've got to get out there, face the music and use it to anger us, if you like, make us mad, and win football matches.
Report by Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 5th January, 2014
NOTTINGHAM FOREST 5 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
F.A.Cup 3rd Round.
Formations, formations, formations. Over the last while Big Sam has played a number of defensive formations in games using ones like... the four-six- zero; four- five-one; four-two-three-one and we even suspected five-six-minus one at one stage. Yet when it comes to an away FA Cup fixture against a Championship side that are playing well we opt to play a three-five-two formation. This in itself would not be a problem, but when you decide to give three young players their first game in the team and completely change you backline it spells disaster for me. And so it proved to be as our young Hammers were given no protection in their first outing and suffered the consequences.
As the game was kicking off at 12.00 there was a low attendance gathered downstairs in Brannigans. We were all in great spirits until we saw the line-up. It wasn’t so much the inexperience that worried us, it was more the formation and in particular the lack of numbers and experience at the back.
We were wondering if the ref would book George Moncur in the opening minutes telling him that he owed that card to his dad!! Sure enough a rash challenge from Moncur saw us concede a penalty and I have to admit it was a cheeky lob to score. With half-time looming Tommy Noctor informed us that the odds in the bookies were 10/1 on WHU winning. So we threw in a fiver each and Tommy hot tailed it off (with Liam’s pen!) to Ladbrokes (Paddy Powers were late opening and missed easy money!) while we settled into the sambos. I have to hand it to Pat behind the bar as he would make any woman happy – not only was he pulling pints but he also found time to make the sambos!
Second half starts and we look forward to a West Ham change of tactics... that is we were hoping that he would sort out the defence and at least give the young lads some experienced heads to direct them properly... Some hope... Big Sam decides that we’re only brillo and leaves everything as is – he is definitely watching different WHU games to me!
Ten minutes in and he decides that it’s time to take off our “experienced” defender, Diarra (a bloke that rarely gets a game) and bring on another debutant. George Moncur also leaves the pitch (without emulating his father – no yellow card) to be replaced by another youth player. We were starting to worry if he had raided the Under 16 Academy for players also. Forest can’t believe their luck and really take the game to us. Then he takes off Downing (no harm there if you ask me) and brings on another of his youth players. At this stage the average age on the pitch is about 17... so the bar was closed!! I’m kidding about the bar. Forest need plastic surgery to get the smiles off their faces when they see the level of inexperience they are facing and promptly bury us with four more goals.
It was a disastrous performance that I feel was exasperated by Big Sam’s poor choice of tactics. He’s holding players back in anticipation of beating Man City in the Capital One Cup, which I really cannot see happening at all.
What really shocked me was his complete disregard for the travelling fans who shelled out hard earned money to make this trip and were embarrassed by the performance – they stood tall behind the goal and it was heartbreaking to watch that young boy crying. How they manage to still keep the faith and make arduous journeys to away games when they are treated with such blatant disrespect. The blame sits squarely on the shoulders of Big Sam. He knew that he was going to have to play some inexperienced players but he failed to protect them with both the formation he played and the lack of regular first team level players to help them out.
This idea that he needed to rest players before the next few games is a complete nonsense. Professional footballers are paid handsomely to play the game and I don’t think three 90 minute games of football in a week is too much for any of them. There are plenty of amateur players out there playing four games in a week come the end of a season without a quibble! I honestly think that Big Sam was happy to not only lose this game but to see our young home grown talent embarrassed so that he can lay claim to the board that we need more ogres like Matt Taylor in the ranks!
Report by Gerry Murtagh.
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The Presidents View... Sad way to treat a competition that has given us some of the greatest triumphs in our HISTORY. Hope the young lads recover and are not left scarred by this latest example of bad management. |
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 1st January, 2014
FULHAM 2 vs WEST HAM 1.
Setting out from home half cut from new years eve and stopping for a swifty on the way in, I arrived at Brannigans feeling no pain and surprisingly with a positive outlook for the game! The 6 of us made our way upstairs and settled down to watch the match with Arabic commentary… Sccoorettttt Paaaakaaaaggghhhh… and as is 'the usual' these days, none of us were excited by the team selection. No Jarvis? Odd after his good performance against WBA.
After 10 minutes or so Diame put us one up, minutes later Nolan's downward header was cleared after a great save from the Fulham keeper. Here we go we thought, lets sort this lot out.
Then Noble goes off injured and we give the ball away constantly, making Fulham look good. They come closer and closer to scoring, then eventually equalising as the Hammers persistently hoofed the ball up field giving possession away. More members had showed up by this time swelling our numbers. To keep ourselves awake during the aimless long balls we come up with suggestions as to what the C.B.E. stands for after Karen Brady's name! Needless to say that none of the suggestions can be printed here.
Half time arrives, 'I'll do it if no one else will" Gerry took the free trip draw money, while not a sandwich, nugget or chip were anywhere to be seen!!!!
The second half began... then with the game finely balanced, Nolan aims a kick at the fulham player who had just blocked him and was promptly sent off… what a wanker… now against 10 men Fulham came at us, it was only a matter of time. "Fulham are 2-1 up" said a young lad as he was also following the game via live text… the Arabic station was streaming 2 or 3 minutes behind… what followed was a surreal couple of minutes as we all sat and waited for Fulham to score?
Brian M then stood up, clapped his hands and said "Right, I'm gonna open a book… Rat to get booked next" It brightened the mood as the stick flowed… but then… fuck me… didn't the Rat get booked to howls of laughter! Back to the game, we huffed and puffed but could only manage one chance near the end. Brand New Year… Same Old Shite…
The endless long balls, ultimately resulting in giving possession away and the lack of any adventure has finally got to me. I think we are in serious trouble now, what with the growing injury list, a final run in of fixtures that does us no favours, poor on field leadership, but most of all, poor tactics and management. Let's be honest here, we have always been an up and down, mid to bottom of the table team, but these negative tactics… god it's grim… the forums are saying the away support was very quiet… can you blame them watching that?
If we are to go down, so be it, but let's at least go down fighting and trying to play some decent football. I stopped off in Bray for a swifty on the way home and watched some of the ManUre v Spurs match, although it galls me to say it, but it was like watching a completely different game being played.
And so... it is time for me to 'nail my colours to the mast' and join the president's "Stand Against Sam" Campaign, although with my knees, I will be joining the "Stay-seated Against Sam" Campaign, can't be doing with that up and down all bloody game!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Report by Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 28th December, 2013
WEST HAM 3 vs WBA 3.
Yet again it was another must win game for West Ham as West Brom rolled into town. West Ham had slipped into the bottom three with loses to Arsenal and Man U. James Collins was missing due to injury, so Tomkin's was the only notable centre half we had, however he went off injured within the first 10 minutes!
Now we had four full backs on the pitch. Luckily enough West Ham were 1-0 up at this stage due to a fantastic goal by Joe Cole. West Ham were looking to take control of the game and Carlton Cole came close but to no avial. With all the full backs on the pitch it was only a matter of time before we would be caught out and it was Nicolas Anelka who went through the middle of the defence to score his first goal for WBA. It seems at this stage that if you have not scored a goal for your team for along time you must relish playing against West Ham, as they always seem to let this kind of player score against them.
After scoring his first goal, Anelka went on to make an antisemitic gesture... nice one Nicolas. It was from a West Ham corner that WBA made a break. Joe Cole tried to shepherd the attacker down the wing when the ball broke and went over the bi-line. Joe Cole said it was the West Brom player that the ball came off last but the ref gave the corner to West Brom. From the corner there was a mix up in the box and Anelka scored his second on the stroke of half time. When the referee blew up for half time you could clearly hear the boos ringing around Upton Park.
When the second half started, West Brom were doing their best to capitalise on the score line. West Ham had made a change at half time and brought Maiga for Carlton Cole. Maiga was coming into the game more and more. He had a shot turned over the post from the WBA keeper. West Ham broke and Maiga from the same position only a few minutes earlier struck the ball and this time the shot hit the back of the net.
At this stage West Ham were on the up and only a couple of minutes later they had the ball in the back of the net again. Noble looped the ball into the box for Maiga to head the ball downwards where Nolan falling backwards hit the ball into the roof of the net. The Dublin Hammers were in fine voice at this stage. All we had to do was stand steadfast for the next five or ten minutes and keep West Brom out and maybe even try go on and snatch another goal.
But that was not to happen, within two minutes of going 3-2 up West Brom had broken down the far end of the field and scored to make it 3-3. You could see the disappointment on the Dublin Hammers faces, yet again we couldn't hold onto a lead. The game was there for somebody to take control of, but West Ham don't seem to have any leaders on the pitch and it could have been much worse when Diame had committed a foul on the edge of the Hammers box. West Brom were very unlucky that the shot only hit the post and West Ham were lucky to see Noble clear the ball from the rebound.
The camera went to the bench and it wasn't a good sight to see Big Sam sitting sulking in the seat, you would think at this stage he would be up encouraging his players to go for it. The game ended 3-3, most neutrals would say it was a good game, but not if your a West Ham United supporter. Every game from here on in we need to be picking up points and on today's performance its going to be hard.
It was great to see Gerry O'Keeffe back in the club again. Its been almost two years since he made an appearance. Our next game is on New Years day again Fulham another must win game. Happy New Year !!!!
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 18th December, 2013
TOTTENHAM 1 vs WEST HAM 2.
Quarter Final Capital One Cup
A slow starter this one, in fact only 6 of us in place at kick-off, but by 30 minutes into the game we had a healthy 20 or so members in attendance. Could we turn this lot over again? That was the question and speaking truthfully, taking our recent shite form into consideration… probably not! The talk before hand was of the possible BFS team selection… once the teams were announced it would be fair to say… we were not inspired! So be it and the game started.
With Ade-buy-poor and slag-bag Defoe up front for the Spuds we were soon under pressure. Defoe blasted wide and we hung on as they gave us a good first half mauling.
With everyone in fine form (especially The Secretary), the wise cracks were coming quick and fast, we laughed so much it didn't seem to matter as we watched West Ham give the ball back to Spurs continuously, but they couldn't score and the break arrived with the teams level.
Second half started and we looked brighter, but from a corner they broke down the wing, Defoe crossed and Ade-buy-yawn volleyed into the goal. The camera panned into the muggy spuds, looking all pleased with themselves…. little did they know! The S.A.S. contingent were up and down off there seats like synchronized dancers everytime BFS came on the screen. The large one then made 3 substitutions… on came Rav, Miaga and Diame.
Suddenly, we started to have a go at them. They didn't like it and started to look very suspect… and then from a classic hoof upfield, Miaga won the header, Taylor played a great side ways ball to Jarvis, who slammed the ball into the net… que dublin hammers mayhem… 'come on' we screamed… a truce was called by the president on behalf of the S.A.S collective… and together we urged the Hammers on!
With Spurs now clearly under the kosh, Rav played a lovely ball behind the Spurs full-back, Diame ran onto it and crossed… Miaga (who it is fair to say, isn't flavor of the month at present) rose and planted a header in to the back of the net... We went 'fucking bananas'... haven't felt like that after a goal for quite a while. But we were not done yet as Miaga went close thundering a shot onto the cross-bar and lifting us all off our seats again!
We held our breaths through the 5 minutes of extra time, but the ref blew and we had beaten Spurs at White Shite Lane for a second time… is there anything sweeter. The camera panned into Levi, he looked sick. Excellent! A good night… if only we could play like that last 10 minutes all the time?
The draw for the semi-final wasn't the kindest, pairing us with Manchester City… making us the underdogs, but don't mind that, with nothing to lose lets have a go at them.
As I left the pub with the strains of "Can we play you every week" in my ears, I ventured out into the foul dublin night, and as I stood there waiting for the bus in the gale force wind and horizontal rain, do you know, I didn't 'give one', in fact I had a smile on my face from cheek to cheek!
Report by Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 9th December, 2013
DUBLIN HAMMERS CHRISTMAS PARTY.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 3rd December, 2013
CRYSTAL PALACE 1 vs WEST HAM 0.
Well what a pile of shite that was! for a match report mix the chelsea and norwich reports, only we played with a striker. Palace were awful, first half we were all over them.... Dowling put in decent cross after decent cross... no one able to finish... slow build up... same old shite.
On the lighter side, it was a well attended meeting, plenty of wise cracks and laughter. Every time the camera zoomed in on Cham-muck we all howled with laughter... what kind of haircut is that? "Did you have to leave before he was finished" was one cry. I can only compare it with the hair style Arnie had in the first terminator movie.
Oh and guess who scored the goal... fuckin Cham-muck... he's shite... we all know he's shite... but he still manages to score against us... what's the betting he doesn't score again this season!
Thank goodness we are away to Liverpool next, no fretting over that one... 3-0 to the mickey mousers, done deal.
Got my email from BFS this morning... "we have to be more determined and resilient"... you don't say... putting the ball in the net might help too Sam!
Report by an Exasperated West Ham Fan.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 30th November, 2013
WEST HAM 3 vs FULHAM 0.
In a must win game for West Ham that saw more sandwiches at halftime then Dublin Hammers members, eight in total (Members not sandwiches) as noted by Jimmy Conway.
West Ham started the game with a striker for the first time in a long time. Maiga started the game with Morrison and Cole dropped to the bench. The tv signal was a bit clichy but not unwatchable. We all settled in with what we thought would be a tense affair, but with Maiga on the pitch, West Ham set about dominating the match from the start. It would have to be said that Maiga would not be my favourite player, but he was making a nuisance of himself.
With both teams on ten points and Martin Jol’s job on the line Fulham didn’t seem to be up for this one and even Scott Parker, on his return to Upton Park with Fulham, gave a lacklustre performance. The first half saw West Ham go close when a Maiga header hit the woodwork. Stewart Downing was having a good game, also which is good to see, can't say the same for Matt Jarvis.
Halftime... and all those lovely sandwiches.... and no Dublin Hammer members to eat them.
The second half was only two minutes old when West Ham got the opener. Scott Parker and Steve Sidwell both lost possession in their own half, allowing Diame to run at goal, his shot was deflected past the Fulham keeper, que Dublin hammers mayhem... from all eight of us!
Being one nil up for West Ham at the moment doesn’t mean we could go on and dominate (remember the Norwich game), but this time around we went for the jugular. On 68 mins Sam brought off the lackluster Jarvis for Joe Cole. West Ham pushed on and with 76 mins gone big Sam took off his love child Kevin Nolan for Ravel Morrison. West Ham had Fulham under the cosh when Sam made his final substitution... Carlton Cole for Maiga. Carlton Cole scored a minute after coming off the bench, latching onto a Stewart Downing cross. West Ham’s 3rd came from a superb run into the box from Morrison, who passed the ball from the byline into Joe Cole’s path for the midfielder to score from a deflection.
The scoreline reflected West Ham’s dominance. Fulham did not put up much if any of a fight which resulted in Martin Jol getting the sack on Sunday. Lets hope we can carry on where we left off in the game against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night, another must win game. This game will be shown live in Brannigan’s. Hope to see you all there!
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 23rd November, 2013
WEST HAM 0 vs CHELSEA 3.
Only the hardcore of the club showed up for this meeting… could we repeat the surprise home win from last season? Probably not was the general feeling… and so it proved to be!
I haven't got the stomach to go into things to deeply, but basically it was more of the same… the no striker formation…. playing at home with no striker? We didn't start too badly, Dowling looked lively down the wing, but had to turn and play the ball back due to the lack of any West Ham players being in the box to cross to? Boy do we need a striker! Then it all went 'tit's up' when Gee Demel's weak back pass was intercepted and Jussi took out Oscar and a penalty awarded… Our old friend Lampard converted with relish.
Now firmly on the back foot, what little hope we had faded… off came Joe Cole and Collison (who I thought had started brightly) and on came Diame and Maiga… at least we had a striker on the pitch. It didn't really have much of an impact as just before half time they doubled the lead with a well taken strike from Oscar. The match was pretty much all over by then… we huffed and puffed in the second half, but they looked likely to score whenever they attacked. They did near the end when Lampard (again) made it 3-0.
We managed to create just one clear goalscoring opportunity, only for Maiga to put it narrowly wide… the stats said we had 15 shots at goal… NONE on target.
As usual the doom and gloom was tempered by the unceasing wise cracks and laughter. No surprise on the result… but disappointing to see Upton Park half empty by the time the final whistle went. Finally, I want to mention the president who (as usual) is abstaining from all alcoholic beverages during the month of November… the way he managed to get through watching that shite with no drink in front of him was an example to us all.
Report by Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 9th November, 2013
NORWICH CITY 3 vs WEST HAM 1.
I was looking forward to this meeting, late Saturday kick-off, in on the DART and a chance of a few pints watching the Hammers see off a poor Norwich side.
The DART was packed with 'egg chasers' heading for Ireland's Rugby international, one of them saw my Dublin Hammers shirt…"West Ham… good Man"… "Doing great at the moment" said his mate… were they taking the piss or just clueless? Clueless I think! Anyway arrived at the pub just as the game kicked-off and sat down with the first pint lined up.
And so to the first half… Big Sam had opted for the now familiar 'no striker' formation and we looked comfortable, we were playing all the football, the possession stats were 70-30 in our favour and we were making chances. Norwich seemed there for the taking and after a while we were wondering if we were going to actually score. The team were playing well but (in my opinion) lacked focus up front. On a number of occasions crosses were put into the box but were not attacked?
Then just as half time was approaching Nolan managed to control the ball on the byline and rolled it across the goal, giving Morrison the simple task of putting it in the back of the net. Sweet. 1-0 up now, surely Norwich would have to come at us in the second half and we'll get the chance to hit them on the break.
Then came the second half… Understandably the Norwich team had probably been given the 'hair-dryer treatment' at half-time, and as predicted they came at us with renewed vigour. All of a sudden it wasn't so easy for us to play the ball around and they started to make half chances. Then Jussi made an uncharacteristic fumble from a cross, Turner (illegally) toed the ball from his arms, Jussi reached for the ball and the Norwich striker went over… "penalty" said the ref… "oh fuck off" we replied!
They made no mistake and the scores were level. With the home crowd awakened they kept at us, then Collins gave away a foul on the edge of the area… was it a foul?… 50-50, but the ref gave it and Snodgrass scored with a well taken shot over the wall. We all looked at each other with WTF faces… on came Diame… on came Carlton… Big Sam had his now familiar 'slouched in the dugout seat arms folded sulky face on'. We never came near to equalising and in injury time they scored the third to finish us off in style!
There's an old cliche in football punditry… "it was a game of two halves"… and this game was a classic example, with the dominance we had and the chances we made in the first half, the game should have been all over by half-time!
Disappiontedly we headed downstairs "for a few more" where the conversation turned to the "old days"… Brooking… Devonshire… the atmosphere at Upton Park in the late 70s, early 80s… very enjoyable, and I sat on the DART on my return journey with the memories flowing from those times… in fact if anyone invents a time machine, give us a shout, would love to have some of that again!
In the sunday papers…"Big Sam blames Jussi"… a slightly disappointing reaction from a manager who must be starting to feel the heat? OK, so it was a mistake from Jussi that let them back into the game, but these things happen in football, surely it's about being able to adapt the team to the situation… as one member said 'no Plan B'… Sam's Plan A doesn't work… we're fucked! I hope not...
Report by Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Trip - 2rd November, 2013
WEST HAM UTD 0 vs ASTON VILLA 0.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 27th October, 2013
SWANSEA CITY 0 vs WEST HAM 0.
Our trip to Swansea saw us kick off at 4pm. The match was been televised downstairs due to a Christening been held in our usual room. A good crowd had gathered and with pints in hand, the discussion was we would take a draw, but love a win and the up coming Dublin Hammers trip vs Villa.
As the kick off time approached, Pat the barman was doing his best to tune in the game, but with no joy. David, Liam’s nephew and his friend from Leicester decided to make the short trip to Murray’s, who where also showing the match. It looked like the rest of us where about to down our pints and follow as Pat was still struggling to tune in the match, but just as Liam told him that we were going to head off... hey presto!.. the match comes on.
The match was about 5mins old at this stage and as in the last two games West Ham did not have an out and out striker on the pitch. The first real attempt was from Stewart Downing from outside the box, but he kicked it straight at the goalkeeper. Not much more happened to talk about in the first half, except Vaz Te was substituted for Matt Jarvis due to a hand injury. The first half ends Swansea 0 - West Ham 0.
It was then that Liam got a phone call from his nephew David asking was the match still on in Brannigans. Liam told him to make their way back around and as he hung up the phone the signal went down on the telly again. Lucky enough Pat was at hand to get it up and running again before the second half kicked off.
West Ham held their own in the second half and on the 64min a cheer went up as Diame was substituted and on came Carlton Cole for the second coming. From there on in both teams huffed and puffed with Bony coming on for Swansea, but neither team could make the break through. Ravel Morrison managed to get 78mins of a game but was very quiet or maybe he was being kept quiet. He was substituted and on came Joe Cole. Joe managed to last 10mins before he got a yellow card.
West Hamhad one more attempt to win the game and pushed on, in the 90min when Carlton Cole got his head to a James Tomkins cross, only for the header to be saved by their keeper. That was the last real attempt by either team and a draw was probably a fair result in the end.
The next live league match is vs Aston Villa and will be shown in Brannigans. This game is also the first official trip of the season, good luck to all the lads travelling over and lets hope its a win. COYI.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th October, 2013
WEST HAM 1 vs MANCHESTER CITY 3.
These late Saturday afternoon kick-off times alway seem to get good attendances and this meeting was no exception. By kick off time the room was nicely full! The Sky analysis showed the Hammers as lining up in the same formation that played against Tottenham so successfully last week, with no out and out striker.
The game kicked off and it soon became clear that we were going to have our work cut out containing City. Even when the television decided to freeze a couple of times, the class of Silva, Toure and especially Aguero proved to much, but thankfully by half time we were only one down. It could have been 2 or 3 but for the usual '2 or 3 great saves' per game from Jussi.
The president was showcasing his latest campaign… S.A.S… Stand Against Sam… it seems he is not happy with Big Sam's management style and every time the camera showed Fat Sam he urged members to stand up in protest?
The half time sandwiches were devoured and the second half started. At least in the second half we had a go at them and it was an exciting game. However, they always looked capable of scoring more goals and before long Aguero added his second goal of the game! Fair play we kept at them and after a spate of pressure Vaz Te scored with an overhead kick, although it did look off-side? funnily enough no one seemed to mind!
The game hung in the balance for a short while, West Ham pressed but Hart (whose hair was looking great, not a sign of dandruff anywhere!) was always on hand, then Aguero played in Silva who finished with style to effectively put an end to the game. The camera repeatedly showed Big Sam shouting and gesturing from the side line… the president was up and down like a whore's knickers. Petric came on but the game was over and we were well beaten. After the week that was in it for Ravel Morrison, he played a couple of good passes, but City closed him down quickly, not giving him the chance to really make any real impact on the game. Probably just what he needed… a reality check.
So no surprises about the result of this fixture, we had a go but in the end they were the better team! Good meeting though, everyone in good form and… was it me or was the quality of the Guiness exceptional? Wish I could have stayed after the final whistle and had a few more!
Report by Paul Smith.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 6th October, 2013
TOTTENHAM 0 vs WEST HAM 3.
They say that it’s unlucky for some... but the number 13 proved to be very lucky for the Hammers against Spurs... 3 goals in 13 minutes saw us climb from the bottom 3 to 13th!
I was late getting in to the game and when I arrived there was a good crowd of nervous looking Hammers fans in situ. The first half saw us defend really well and more importantly pass the ball when we got possession as much as possible. There was less of the hoof and hope that we have come to expect. Starting with Diame upfront might have had something to do with this tactic. Whatever about the tactic – it worked well. A very clever free kick just before the break should have seen us go in on top at half time.
Anyway the sambos, onion rings and chips arrived and were demolished in no time. The Spot the Balls were sold and we felt the omens were in our favour as West Ham won and we were also ahead on corners in the game!
The second half saw the Hammers keep Defoe (Mini Judas) from scoring early on and Spurs paid dearly for this miss as a corner from the right was met by Reid, Nolan got in the way but thankfully Reid pounced on the rebound to make it 1-0... We leapt out of our seats!
Then a superb through ball found Vaz Te who ran on to shoot, Lloris saved but the rebound hit Vaz Te on the knee and went in... We went nuts! Spurs were in a shambles and Ravel Morrison, who looks like he might just be the difference this season, ran from inside his own half, beat three players and lobbed Lloris to make it 3-0... We went beserk!!!!
Even at 3-0 the McDonagh positive spirit was alive and well as David reminded us that we were 3-0 up against Wimbledon a number of years ago... and lost 4-3. The glass is always half empty with this bunch! Overall we played really well and I think the lack of a 'big stocking' upfront helped, as it forced the team to try and retain possession and break quickly. It was a very important win for us and all the sweeter to give this lot a hiding, especially with the Mini Judas prancing around.
Report by Gerry Murtagh.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 21st September, 2013
WEST HAM UTD 2 vs EVERTON 3.
A smallish crowd gathered for this game though, and as Dessie Doyle said "there’s enough in to sell a spot the ball". There were more visitors in from Essex, which seems to be the norm. I had a lovely email from the visitors for the Southampton game which said that they had a great time thanks to the Dublin Hammers. Anyway on to the game.
We did OK in the 1st half and deserved to go in 1nil up thanks to Morrisons deflected shot. Martinez made 2 changes at half time which totally changed the game. They battered us, drew level through a Baines 'brill free kick'. Against the run of play, Noble put us ahead from the spot. Then he gets sent off for a needless tackle and Baines does us again! No surprise when Lukaku hit the winner.
Looks like its going to be a long winter. Our squad looks very small on quality and after Hull the run of games looks tough. Thanks to all who made the effort to get in hope to see u all for Josh's Party... COYIs!
Report by Liam McDonagh.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 15th September, 2013
SOUTHAMPTON 0 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
Dublin City centre was full of plane spotters with the Skyfest in full swing. I made my way to Brannigans with the roar of jet engine's ringing in my ears. The match had just kicked off when I got my pint and headed up upstairs. When I got into the room it was packed with claret and blue everywhere.
West Ham's new recruit Mladen Petric was not on show as he is not match fit, so it was Maiga up front for his 4th start in a row. I have to say at this stage that this match was billed by Sky Sports as the'Super Sunday' big match... it was the only match on and it was not 'Super' by any stretch of the imagination.
Sam Allarydyce's team barely threatened to make an impact in the final 3rd of the Field, even the inclusion of young midfielder Ravel Morrison failed to make much of a difference to the Hammers attack. West Ham really only had one chance in the first half, a Mohamed Diame close range shot straight at Boruc.The big talking point was Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin, who shouldn’t have been on the pitch after his two-footed challenge on Diame that went completely unpunished, with Ref. Andre Mariner not even awarding a free-kick.
Half time and it was sambo time, Liam took to the floor and told us the Everton game is been shown next week at 3pm, he also told us it is Josh's going away party on the 28th September. If anyone is going it's at 8pm with DJ and food come see the big man off in style.
The second half and welcome to the Jussi Jaaskelainen's show. He was given the man of the match award and he deserved it, with the Hammers sitting back, Southampton took full advantage. Lambert headed against the post and then a short time after, Lallana finds Rodriguez and his cross is met by Schneiderlin on the volley. Jaaskelainen flies to his left and palms the ball around the post.
West Ham's only chance fell to James Collins, we win a corner through Jarvis's persistence and keep the ball alive due to some fine work inside the Southampton box. Noble skips to the byline and pulls the ball back for Collins, who is unmarked, but the centre-back blasts over the crossbar. That was about it... West Ham had 23 crosses... and only 2 hit their target... I can hear Liamo "Jarvis... 10 million... *#'/@*... waste of space".
A big hello to our guests for the day all the way from Sligo and Malcolm and his Family from Hornchurch in Essex celebrating his 60th Birthday.
Report by Brian Madden.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 31st August, 2013
WEST HAM UTD 0 vs STOKE CITY 1.
Saturday, 31st of September saw a re-enactment on O'Connell Street of a protest during the Dublin strike of 1913 know as the 'Lock Out'. Great passion was shown during the re-enactment and an enjoyable day was had by all. A few yards away upstairs in Brannigan's Pub, West Ham were having a lock out of their own. And there the similarities end. There was absolutly nothing enjoyable about the 95 minutes played in the Boelyn Ground on Saturday (if you're an Iron) and there was absolutely no passion on display from the home team.
About 15 souls braved the Saturday throngs to shout on the men in Claret and Blue. Jemma Noctor has a legimitate claim to the services of childline. To be subjected to that match at such a tender age is adequate grounds but she bore up well and was as usual impeccibly well behaved, not an expletive in sight. Tommy 4 made a surprise return and added to the athmosphere.
Thier honestly is very little to report from a West Ham point of view. We have plently of possission on the wings and slung in a reasonable number of dangerous crosses to absolutely nobody. In truth, Stoke should have won by more, Jones and Walters had particularly good chances and we had... none. In two games we have managed one shot on target and we were at home on Saturday. I may sound negative but I am just reflecting the views of all who were there on Saturday. We really, really, really need to buy or borrow a good striker or it's back to the bad old days of relegation battle. Other than that it was a great day with the usual crack.
Report by Jim Conway.
The Presidents View. Report from the Stoke meeting... Met at 3pm... ate the sandwichs at half time... went home at 5pm. Should have went to watch a football match! Regards The "Angry" President.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 24th August, 2013
NEWCASTLE UTD 0 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
A good turnout in Brannigans for the Newcastle game saw the pub suffer serious IT issues and ALL Premiership games being available EXCEPT Newcastle vs West Ham? We waited around to see if the IT issues could be resolved but it wasn’t looking good. Gary was sent around to Murrays as chief scout to check if they were showing the game. Sure enough a phone call within 5 minutes saw us pack up and head to Murrays.
Upstairs in Murrays on a Saturday afternoon has to be seen to be believed. There were seven different games on with supporters for each. It can be very distracting when you are trying to stay awake watching as dull a game as Newcastle vs West Ham turned out to be when you have various groups jumping up and down as Leeds, Borussia Munchengladbach and others scored.
And a poor game it was. Very few chances created by either team with West Ham missing a number of good opportunities to win this game. Nolan, Downing and Maiga all missed glorious chances. Jarvis did well on the left and put in a number of decent crosses but (and I hate to admit it!) we missed a player like Carroll who can get a decent header on target.
Overall we never looked in danger as Newcastle were very poor. They had a great chance in added time when Ameobi hit the upright and Gouffran managed to blaze the rebound over the bar from 4 yards... thankfully. In the end a 0-0 draw was a result that the game deserved.
We have to say... "fair play to Murrays", as when we arrived there was no sound on the TV but they managed to get not only the sound sorted out, but they also put the game up on the big screen and provided us with baskets of hot food. Top marks lads! We did suggest that Dessie sell Spot the Balls in the pub, that way we could all head on a free trip from the income but he declined for safety reasons.
Report by Gerry Murtagh.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th August, 2013
FIRST OF THE SEASON
A quiet meeting with membership money, free trip draw money and deposit’s taken for our trip to London in November.
Dublin Hammers Trip to Cork - 7th & 8th July, 2013
CORK CITY 2 vs WEST HAM UTD 6.
Report and photos... see more photos.