Dec 05
West Ham United vs Manchester United: Preview
Fresh from World Cup draw fever, the attention will once more be focused on the Premier League. Manchester United have the rare occurrence of a Saturday, 3pm kick-off, and the lucky recipients of a visit from Sir Alex Ferguson on his 1,300th game in charge of the Red Devils are West Ham United. That’s 3pm GMT at Upton Park or the Boleyn Ground if you prefer.
The Hammers are fresh from the 5-3 victory over Burnley last weekend, at one point 5-0 up. But former United reserve Chris Eagles was the catalyst for the Clarets as they looked to make the score more respectable and ultimately demonstrate the weakness of West Ham’s defence. Having not had a clean sheet since August and scoring in each of their last eleven matches, including an impressive 8 in their last three games, a goal fest should ensue.
Matthew Upson should have recovered from a hamstring injury to help repair the leaky defence that has conceded at least two goals in 9 of their last 10 Premier League matches. Reported United target Carlton Cole is out until the New Year and Alessandro Diamanti is doubtful with a thigh strain. This means Zavon Hines will start upfront for the Hammers,
Long-term absentees Calum Davenport, Dean Ashton and Luis Boa Morte are all still sidelined. Valon Behrami is also out after minor knee surgery. Forgotten man Kieron Dyer should be on the bench after playing 75 minutes for the reserves on Monday.
Gianfranco Zola has the Hammers playing an attacking brand of football, a brand of entertaining football that has led his side into a relegation dogfight. One player who is always up for a battle is Scott Parker, he has matured into a more holding role during his time with West Ham and is a vital component of Zola’s team, he will look to impose his game on our midfield and is also a threat when he ventures into the opposition half.
United go into the game on the back of a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Carling Cup. With Ferguson selecting a second string side, the young lads will have definitely put themselves into first team contention, Darron Gibson being a case in point.
Edwin Van der Sar, who has saved 83% of all shots on target, a league high, has recovered from a knee injury and will force Tomasz Kuszczak back onto the bench.
Patrice Evra will return to the back line to join Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown in an almost unchanged unit. John O’Shea and Jonny Evans are still out with thigh and ankle injuries, respectively.
The biggest headache for Ferguson is the midfield, Anderson was impressive against Spurs, Michael Carrick had a late cameo but Darron Gibson stole all the headlines with two wonderful goals and surely deserves to keep his place in the side. Antonio Valencia, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs should all return to the team, and Paul Scholes is also in with a shout.
Wayne Rooney who bagged a hat-trick last week, will almost certainly partner Dimitar Berbatov, leaving Michael Owen out in the cold once more.
There have been more goals at Upton Park than at any other Premier League ground this season. We do not have a great record at Upton Park with two defeats in our last three trips to east London, though last season we completed the double over the Hammers. We should expect nothing less than a victory to keep the pressure on Chelsea, who face a tricky tie against that ‘massive club’ from across the way.
Prediction: 3-1 United
Probable Line Up: Van der Sar, Neville, Brown, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs, Rooney, Berbatov
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- West Ham v Man Utd: Live
- Man Utd v West Ham: Preview
- Man Utd v West Ham: Preview
Tags: Manchester United News
Opti (541)
Stephen (487)
RedDevilEddy (459)
Craig Mc (348)
Moscow is my heaven (272)
@Traverse: David Schiavone is the best…we can never loose if he gives the preview
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Someone is a bit of a psychic here.
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@Traverse: But in fairness I thought we were moderately poor in the first 45.
Against stronger opposition we might not have run away with the result like that.
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Lol. Chelsea. Beaten by Kettle neck.
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Ronaldo got red card
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@NicoQB: Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah –
.
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@Footy4Eddy: Trying to get even eh?
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@Wink: Cheer up? Did you read my post mate? I think it was pretty cheerful considering my usual venom. And the French definition of Grognard is a miserable old bastard soldier.
Grouchnard hardly hits the mark.
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@owen: Why not ask him directly?
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@CraigMc:
Ain’t it true?
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@Grognard: Tell then
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@Grognard: You had it coming champ!
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It’s the fourth time United scored four or more goals in the league this season, with 15 games gone. Last season we managed to do it five times. In total.
Way to go lads!
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@Footy4Eddy: We will score 10 timesthis season…
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@Footy4Eddy: Are we on a roll Eddi mi man
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How we lost to Burnley????
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For me Anderson was wonderful today. While there was an occassion or two that he either should of shot the ball or misread a teammate which lead to the off pass, I feel his vision and strength shown through today and when he plays like he did today he is the best central midfielder we have going forward.
Also I believe PIG had a very solid game. Everytime he plays he makes incredible saves, ones Foster probably would have let in, but his kicking is terrible. If he could just straighten that out I would have no problem in him being our number one.
Also, though he has a game or two which does not warrant his place, Ryan Giggs absolutely amazes me. The commentator of todays match mentioned something about Ryam Giggs doing things at 36 that most could not even do at 20. Being 36 myself, I remember thinking the exact same thought right before it was mentioned during the game. Giggsy is such a lengend. Quite possibly the greatest player ever to wear the red of United in my humble opinion.
Glory, Glory United.
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So does anyone believe Sir Alex when he stated that Nani was not for sale in the upcoming January transfer window? Personally I think it is already signed, sealed, and delivered that his days are very numbered. Which for me is a huge disappointment. I am a big Nani fan and while I feel he has not taken advantage of his opportunities, I also feel he has not had the proper opportunity to prove himself. One game out of four or five is not a proper opportnity. Nani needed consecutive games. I feel if Nani is to leave it is more poor management than it is anything else.
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@RichmondRed: hear hear… except PIG will be backup at best at united, if I ran things; however, he did play well today.
Defenders out:
Vidic
Rio
Evans
Brown
Rafael
Fabio
Neville
Oshea
That is our 1st and 2nd string of defenders… we will need youngsters and Carrick/Fletcher in defence against Wolfsburg. That is sick!
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Liverpol are 10 points behind, that is soooo funny!!! They’re pathetic! Ha, ha its brilliant. I know I need to get out more but still, that has made my weekend!!!
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I would like to see gibson´s goal/minutes ratio. I think we have a new gibson/torres rivarly in EPL.
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Gonna work on a FIFA 10 video tonight, may be up tomorrow if I manage to succeed recreating some of the goals/highlights of this season…
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@RichmondRed: PIG is fine when he has to come in and substitute for VDS for a game or two but I recall a couple of years back when he had to fill in for VDS for a run of games and he done a Foster – dodgey decision making!!! He looked very shakey. Was that me or did that happen???
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@rysho: That would be a good comparison if gibson was a striker but he ain’t (obviously). He’s shit at passing, has no energy, pace, can’t tackle, no creativity etc.
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@NicoQB: I thought he had a great game and generally the passing from City players was rather poor and so was the off the ball movement
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Regarding the citeh vs chelsea match, all the stats go in citeh’s favour, it seems at home anyway! Hopefully, and I know its a certainity to be honest, Fergie puts a few more first teamers on for this match. U’d never live it down, otherwise, if we’d get beat!
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Carling Cup match that is
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@Wink: Actually it was a pretty uplifting post, by his usual tone. You’ll see that when you get past the first paragraph.
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@CraigMc: I HATE Terry! Its always good when that cunt is on the losing team. He is always made out to be the “warrior” in the media! He will always “die” on the pitch for his team
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@[OPTI]Madschester United: PIG has played well the past three games he has played, not just today…and as far as him being a first team player…well, I too think this will never happen considering the fact that he proably will never have the footwork on the ball or the kicking accuracy to compliment his shot stopping ability, but I prefer PIG to Foster…
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@jpg: There have been moments in the past that PIG has had a problem or two with his decision making, but I feel he is no different than a majority of the world’s keepers when it comes to decision making. Even VDS has pissed off United fans, including me with the one-off blip. Of course PIG is not a “class” keeper, he is steady and reliable for the most part. Hell, I still have nightmares about Roy Carroll being our number one for a couple of years and PIG has never made me cringe like Carroll did no matter his mistakes. The point is, I find PIG to be a solid shot stopper and a keeper who plays with passion and one I rate above Foster at the moment. PIG has had a solid three games in a row and I hope he starts Tuesday in Germany and against Villa next week…
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@RichmondRed: You are getting me wrong. I like PIG, especially over Foster, I’m only saying that he’s not our number one keeper for the long term. I’ve every faith in him as a filler in but I feel we should be hunting for someone that will replace VDS long term.
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@RichmondRed: I agree, but I think VDS will play against Villa
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@jpg: Well I think he is out for a while as he had his knee heavily bandaged during the City game, where he was stood looking forlorn on the touchline.
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@jpg: We’d never live it down IF we played our 1st teamers mate, whereas IF we play the kids and City win it will be no feather in their cap, but IF our 2nd stringers beat them – THEY WILL NEVER LIVE IT DOWN
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@jpg: But he’s winning matches with important goals – GO FIGURE!
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@[OPTI]Madschester United: I don’t think we should play Fletch in a game we don’t need to win. Fergie got it the wrong way round this time. We should have played more 1st teamers against Besiktas and got the point we needed
. This game in Germany should be the one where all the reserves are played. We cannot afford to lose any more 1st teamers, especially Fletch!
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@RichmondRed: Phelan said in the press conference Friday that NANI has not played because he has been SICK, and missed training for a while. He only just came back and is getting back to match ready. He said SICK as opposed to injured. I suspect the lad is suffering emotional and stress sickness – because he doesn’t understand what is happening to him at United. I think he should INSIST on a move in January, because United is not good for him in any way. Fergie cannot stop a player from going IF they really want too. So Nani’s agent should give a two finger salute to OT and move him on.
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@owen: I have nothing to say.
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@RichmondRed: He’ll get peanuts for Nani in January but if he waits until after the World Cup where Nani is expected to get some serious playing time and chance to impress, perhaps his price will go up. It makes complete business sense to wait until after the World Cup rather than give him away for a bag of balls and and some Panini stickers.
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@jpg: I wished he would die in the streets for the sake of the world.
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Okay I went against my judgement and principles and decided to actually watch the game live. First because this weekend is one of great significance to all my favourite clubs. All 3 were playing today and so were their closest rivals.I just couldn’t afford to miss anything today. Now I watched the West Ham game and the 1st half was almost forgettable and I was beginning to feel a little down and pessimistic. A makeshift of a makeshift defence,is not something I will be too critical of. The midfield had “porous & disjointed” written all over it. And they did not disappoint much in the 1st half. Gibson,was in all honesty poor in his performance,not all round though. His awareness in the middle was closer to zero,than anything else.His passing was just atrocious and he seemed a bit nervy. Now my assessment is based on this specific match and that’s it. He was impressive all round against Spurs and that tells me to trust my instincts and go with patience here. It’s just a matter of development,composure,experience and training. But he was poor today , truth be told. He should get more games.
Anderson in the 1st half was marginally ahead of Gibson but that’s a minus for him. He has more experience and should really do better in games like these. He made the right decisions and these were executed poorly. Near killer passes are not enough. He was hussling and bussling effectively though. He turned it up a notch in after the break and looked more composed and authoritative. He ventured forward even more and we began to see a more sustained attack. Not fluid,but at best consistent. Good assist as well. Overall,an average performance but he should look to cementing that position in the middle with some performances like at the Bridge,in Moscow,vs Spurs(both games) etc against the weaker teams. And proving your doubters wrong with a goal somewhere wouldn’t hurt would it eh Mr Anderson?
Scholes,largely mixed performance. Not his fault if Gibson and Anderson were not constantly finding spaces and freeing themselves up in the middle. He was at times forced to make those now infamous back passes and sidewinders. Andy would just be escorting Scott Parker around the centre circle(Michael Carrick’s apartment building) and Gibson was even less mobile in the 1st half. He scored a great goal,2nd to Darron’s and he did get his passing right. He probably made zero successful tackles and as is required,got yet another stupid booking. To be honest,he would have had a better game if Rooney was Torres,and Giggs was Arshavin. This is not to say the rival players are better,but the reality is they can pass the ball to their teammates. Something which seems quite a task,for Rooney and Giggs. It would be,” Anderson to Scholes,Scholes to Rooney and Rooney to…oh he just misplaces the pass” x5. Replace Rooney with Giggs and repeat. Together with Gibson they were really guilty of breaking our flow constantly in the 1st half. It was ironic that all three were the catalysts or rather the architects of Gibson’s well constructed goal. Back to Scholes,I think he hadthe best game of all our midfielders and this was kind of encouraging for me
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@RichmondRed: Personally I don’t get it when a player does almost everything to the highest possible standards for successive games and still is considered not good enough. I’m with you on this one,butI would go one further to say,let’s actually give him this extended run of games and judge him after. Apparently his kicking is an atrocity. What kicking,in the past 3 games are people talking about? I mean I tried as much as I could to watch that aspect of his game and I think he did well today as in midweek. Has anyone seen Buffon kick the ball? He is always looking dodgy,but most times gets the ball away. The same can be said of TK. One of the problems we have here at this club when it comes to goalkeepers’ kicking, is Nemanja Vidic. Like Silvestre, he has the tendency to just pass the ball back to the keeper at awkward times. Even Rio with his hospital back passes,forces the GK to receive the ball in an awkward position and he is forced to make a panicked clearance or else it’s trouble.
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@Jay wire: I forgive Gibbo all his stray passes. He did the one thing that is more important than anything – SCORE!!
It just amazes me how ppl on this site
can forget that this game is all about scoring goals, and to a lesser degree, defending against them. It may come as a shock to you, but it has always been that way and always will.
The appeal of the game, it’s world wide popularity, is based purely and simply on the simplicity of it all.
End of!!
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@Jay wire: You went against your “judgement and principals”
– There’s hope for you yet!! 
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Darren “The Ape Man” Gibson should pound his chest in Tarzanic fashion the next time he tries to put a hole in the back of the net.
He has one of the fiercest shots I have ever seen.
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@Grognard: Yeah, Nani needs to be “showcased” before he’s put on the market. His value right now must be next to nothing.
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@Jay wire: I think when it comes to Scholes and Giggs, their biggest contribution to the game is the one that is overlooked the most – their ability to draw a crowd of defenders around them. It may look like they’re spinning 360′s or moving laterally, but they are opening up so many gaps for other players to slip into.
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@Grognard: It would be a small sacrifice, for the sake of the world.
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Now before I crash,I would like to extend my greatest gratitude to my teams who have made me a happy guy this weekend. And I apologise in advance for what I’m saying on a United blog but I’m just too excited. First of all,Manchester United FC. Not only did we win but we won with a makeshift defence and did not concede. Special mention to Evra,Giggs,TK and Tony. Also Carrick who didn’t look too out of place in the heart of defence. On the same note thank you Carlitos,always a reliable servant of the club. Barcelona FC. Thank you Messi and Ibrahimovic for maintaining our grip at the top and for good football. But really the biggest result for me is JUVE. That’s just made me happy. A crucial victory in the Derby of Italy to cut the gap to just 4 points. Thanks Caceres,thank you Diego and Marchisio. What a productive weekend for me. I love the game of football and will probably watch about 14 hours of football this weekend. I urge you all to follow some football beyond Old Trafford and get a richer experience of football. You may get to appreciate other “foreign” teams and styles and be exposed to some real modern day football techniques and tactics. I’m not saying find other clubs to support,but just watch and be more aware. It would also help when people start yapping about Dzeko or Hamsik or David Silva ,having actually watched them play. Cheers folks
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