Rival Lines
Match Preview: West Ham v AFCB
Blogger interview: West Ham Till I Die
Twitter: @WestHamTil
Well, Rival Lines is back. Yes, we'll be chatting to fellow bloggers and podcasters about their teams for as many away games as we can for another season. We kick off with a friendly chat with West Ham Til I Die correspondent Jeff who hopefully has already gotten over the first week match that he saw up at Liverpool.
CC: Which summer signing that West Ham made are you most excited about?
WHTID: Felipe Anderson, for sure. Issa Diop in defence looks a good buy for the future.
CC: What do you know about your record signing Felipe Anderson?
WHTID: Well, I know he had a really good season last year in Serie A. He is skilful and hard working and looks to be a great buy.
CC: Was the club right to spend as much as it did on new players this summer and is there any worries about integrating them into the team quickly?
WHTID: Well they obviously had to give Pelligrini some money to spend as part of the terms of him coming to West Ham, so yes. I’m not worried about integrating them into the team, although we appear to be left with a bit of a top heavy squad.
CC: Many pundits have suggested that West Ham could even challenge the top six this season, what are your thoughts on that?
WHTID: No chance!
CC: What do you feel about the striker situation at the club now - who is going to get you the goals?
WHTID: Arnautovic started hitting the back of the net last season, and we’ve always got Chicarito in reserve if required. What we need is for the likes of Antonio and Anderson to score some back-up goals from midfield.
CC: Manuel Pellegrini has had plenty of experience with Man City, are the fans more expectant of Pellegrini to do better than David Moyes?
WHTID: David Moyes did what he was asked to do, which was to keep us up. At the end of the season he had us playing quite well also, so I’ve no problem with him. If our ambition is to do more than just stay up, then expectations have got to be higher.
CC: Are you feeling any more confident about winning games at home?
WHTID: Not really! But I’m hoping we can get off to a good start on Saturday.
CC: What did you make of the team that was selected to play Liverpool?
WHTID: Before the game I thought. It looked a reasonable side, after I had changed my mind. Obviously Noble and Wilshere do not look to be such a great pairing.
CC: Was it a risk to buy Jack Wilshere with his history of injury problems?
WHTID: Yes. Definitely. I hope it pays off, because a really fit Jack Wilshere would be a great addition to our squad, him being a Hammer and all. However I fear that players with a bad injury record over three or four years often never return to earlier heights.
CC: Do you think the bench for West Ham will be much stronger this season with players that can change games?
WHTID: Yes. I can see Antonio/Chicarito being on the bench raring to get on most games. The change being that Antonio is fit this year. Oh, and we’ll probably have ‘Big Andy’ on the bench at least 4 times this season.
CC: How do you expect to line up against AFCB?
WHTID: Fabianski / Ogbonna Diop Cresswell/ Fredericks Noble Rice Wilshere Antonio Masuaka / Arnautovic Anderson
CC: How important do you think a win will be for West Ham in this game?
WHTID: It will be nice if it happens. Too early to put a degree of importance on it.
CC: I felt a bit of lost optimism from Jeff after the first week of games, but trust me West ham and their fans will be another prospect at home to Bournemouth. It's a game they know they can win and will probably think they should win. But Pellegrini has to pick his players up and find a few solutions to the problems they are creating themselves as a team. He then has to set about a Bournemouth side who won't just roll over. With Jack Wilshere among West Ham's ranks, it is really set up to be a fabulous day that could get West Ham off the bottom of the league or could push Bournemouth up to top spot. Now I am dreaming! Read more about what West Ham Til I die thinks about the upcoming game by visiting their website. I also answer some of Jeff's questions on their site about AFCB.
In other news, AFCB will play Milton Keynes Dons in the Carabao Cup second round.
Match Preview: West Ham v AFCB
Blogger interview: West Ham Till I Die
Twitter: @WestHamTil
CC: Which summer signing that West Ham made are you most excited about?
WHTID: Felipe Anderson, for sure. Issa Diop in defence looks a good buy for the future.
CC: What do you know about your record signing Felipe Anderson?
WHTID: Well, I know he had a really good season last year in Serie A. He is skilful and hard working and looks to be a great buy.
CC: Was the club right to spend as much as it did on new players this summer and is there any worries about integrating them into the team quickly?
WHTID: Well they obviously had to give Pelligrini some money to spend as part of the terms of him coming to West Ham, so yes. I’m not worried about integrating them into the team, although we appear to be left with a bit of a top heavy squad.
CC: Many pundits have suggested that West Ham could even challenge the top six this season, what are your thoughts on that?
WHTID: No chance!
CC: What do you feel about the striker situation at the club now - who is going to get you the goals?
WHTID: Arnautovic started hitting the back of the net last season, and we’ve always got Chicarito in reserve if required. What we need is for the likes of Antonio and Anderson to score some back-up goals from midfield.
CC: Manuel Pellegrini has had plenty of experience with Man City, are the fans more expectant of Pellegrini to do better than David Moyes?
WHTID: David Moyes did what he was asked to do, which was to keep us up. At the end of the season he had us playing quite well also, so I’ve no problem with him. If our ambition is to do more than just stay up, then expectations have got to be higher.
CC: Are you feeling any more confident about winning games at home?
WHTID: Not really! But I’m hoping we can get off to a good start on Saturday.
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WHTID: Before the game I thought. It looked a reasonable side, after I had changed my mind. Obviously Noble and Wilshere do not look to be such a great pairing.
CC: Was it a risk to buy Jack Wilshere with his history of injury problems?
WHTID: Yes. Definitely. I hope it pays off, because a really fit Jack Wilshere would be a great addition to our squad, him being a Hammer and all. However I fear that players with a bad injury record over three or four years often never return to earlier heights.
CC: Do you think the bench for West Ham will be much stronger this season with players that can change games?
WHTID: Yes. I can see Antonio/Chicarito being on the bench raring to get on most games. The change being that Antonio is fit this year. Oh, and we’ll probably have ‘Big Andy’ on the bench at least 4 times this season.
CC: How do you expect to line up against AFCB?
WHTID: Fabianski / Ogbonna Diop Cresswell/ Fredericks Noble Rice Wilshere Antonio Masuaka / Arnautovic Anderson
CC: How important do you think a win will be for West Ham in this game?
WHTID: It will be nice if it happens. Too early to put a degree of importance on it.
CC: I felt a bit of lost optimism from Jeff after the first week of games, but trust me West ham and their fans will be another prospect at home to Bournemouth. It's a game they know they can win and will probably think they should win. But Pellegrini has to pick his players up and find a few solutions to the problems they are creating themselves as a team. He then has to set about a Bournemouth side who won't just roll over. With Jack Wilshere among West Ham's ranks, it is really set up to be a fabulous day that could get West Ham off the bottom of the league or could push Bournemouth up to top spot. Now I am dreaming! Read more about what West Ham Til I die thinks about the upcoming game by visiting their website. I also answer some of Jeff's questions on their site about AFCB.
In other news, AFCB will play Milton Keynes Dons in the Carabao Cup second round.
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