Friday 19 January 2018

Rival Lines: "Joe Hart was a strange arrival," says West Ham Till I Die

Rival Lines
Match Preview
20 January 2018
West Ham v AFCB
Blogger Interview West Ham Till I die
Twitter @WestHamTill

This weekend's match against West Ham is a game that will be a pivotal one for the winning side you'd feel and I wanted to get the opinion of Jeff at West Ham Till I Die on how his team was performing before this big clash at the London Stadium. Was David Moyes actually the Messiah? Could any Bournemouth player improve their side or scratch that - will you take Afobe? And if West Ham aren't going down, which sides are?

CC: Could it have gone much better for David Moyes since he joined West Ham?

WHTID: Well I suppose, he would’ve chosen not to get thrashed 4 – 0 by Everton.

CC: There is a claim that the players are fitter now than they were under Billic, is that the main reason for the better form?

WHTID: I don’t know if that is the case - the players were fit enough the past two seasons, but there is no doubt that he has turned things around. After Bilic’s great first season with West Ham, I was one of those that hoped he would succeed, however given David Gold recent declaration that he should have sacked Slaven at the end of last season, things had obviously soured, and at the end there was an inevitability that he would go. At the moment results have started to turn our way: Arnautovic is in a rich vein of form, Lanzini has started scoring goals, and at the weekend Kouyate had his best game in ages, add to that Ogbonna has started to show why he was capped for Italy. These key players are all starting to show consistency and that will pay dividends for us. David Moyes has definitely identified the best position for Arnautovic, so I will credit him for that at the very least.

CC: What have you made of Javier Hernandez is he right for West Ham?

WHTID: He’s a good player, no doubt about that, but he has not really been given a long run in the team, so we haven’t seen the best of him. The way Arnie is playing that is not going to change in the near future either! I never like to see players sulking when they have been substituted off and he has been guilty of doing that. I of course want every player to be successful at West Ham, but that is never going to happen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move on, this is a World Cup year, and being a key player for Mexico he will want more game time.

CC: How important is it for West Ham to pick up a central midfielder this window with rumours of Scott Arfield and Harry Arter filling the papers?

WHTID:  I like all our central midfielders, but there is no doubt that not one of them will be getting ‘player of the year’ this season, so I would not be surprised to see a bit more competition arriving.

CC: Do you think Joe Hart has a future at West Ham and have the fans written him off?

WHTID: I think of lot of West Ham fans think that Joe Hart was a strange arrival given that goalkeeper was not our weakest position. He has not had a brilliant season, although he has had a few decent games. Joe is another one who will have his eye on the World Cup.

CC: Which West Ham players should we may get the chance to see in Russia this summer?

WHTID: Whether they will be West Ham players or not, the above two, and Diafra Sakho for Senegal. Chiek Kouyate also for Senegal, Manuel Lanzini has broken into the Argentina squad. I don’t know the state of Michail Antonio’s injury, but if fit and on form he will be a good risk. Aaron Cresswell has not had his best season so far but is running into form and may have an outside chance of making the squad.

CC: Have you many major injuries?

WHTID: Apart from Antonio and Winston Reid, Hernandez and surprise surprise Andy Carroll have minor knocks but they should be fit for Saturday.

CC: Who would you say has been player of the season for West Ham so far?

WHTID: Mazuaku was the only bright spark of our poor first half of the season. Over the past few games Arnoutovic has been on top form!

CC: The 3-3 match between the two clubs was a strange one in December with lots of incidents. Do you expect another high scoring game?


WHTID: Well we are scoring quite freely for the first time all season, and I always think Bournemouth are capable of scoring – illegitimately or not! Hopefully we can outscore you this weekend.

CC: How do you think West Ham will line up for the Bournemouth match?


Adrian

Zabeleta Ogbonna, Rice Cresswell

Kouyate Obaing Noble Mazuaku

Lanzini


Arnoutovic

CC: Who would you like to see go down out of the teams in the bottom half - and any reasons why?

WHTID: Stoke and West Brom, just because of the style of football they have inflicted on us over the past few years, and given that one of my great mates is a Stoke fan and he had the temerity to say that West Ham would go down last season! I do feel sorry for the poor West Brom fans though, the sheer drudgery that they have had to suffer is almost too much to bear. I think Pards will find it too difficult to turn around their way of playing: so I think those two and Swansea will go down.

CC: It is good to hear that Jeff is feeling positive about his club ahead of this game. While the jury might be out on David Moyes for West Ham fans despite the wins that he has picked up, the Hammers' situation is pretty good to where they were earlier this season. West Ham may have struggled in the FA cup but they got through after extra time against Shrewsbury and some of their main players had to play in that game. Bournemouth chose to rest players and went out, so it will be interesting to see if Eddie Howe will be celebrating after this game or not. In a way, AFCB have already shown a lot of respect for West Ham in not risking some players in the FA Cup but it has been at a high cost for Bournemouth fans who wanted an FA Cup run.

Make sure you take a look at West Ham Till I Die, especially as, at some point today or tomorrow, you'll come across my answer's to Jeff's questions on AFCB.

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