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PREVIEW INDEX.
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Preview City v West Ham 22nd.
January. 2000
City Can Burst
The Bubbles.
Peter Gilbert 19.1.00
Having got the game against The Hammers
away at Upton Park out of the way we can look forward
to this home encounter with some considerable anticipation.
We never win at their place and when they come to Filbert Street
it's never a classic but this time I just sense we could be in
a position to begin our season's 're-build'.
December '99 was awful, but since the turn of the year we
haven't lost.............we haven't won either except on penalties
as v Fulham but the signs are there that we are due a win and
this one could be it. If we can get some of our injuries
off the physio's couch and on to the pitch then we
should see an upswing in our form after our short dark period.
This fixture is ideal for us and if we take the game up and at
'em we could be in for a sweet three points.
Much will depend on the injury situation, but also the
team morale which at the moment looks really good with new heroes
emerging from the ranks eg Arphexad, Taggert, Oakes and Zagorakis.
Darren Eadie is also proving to be a useful and versatile
asset while Gunnlauggson(I spell it differently every time) and
Fenton have weighed in with committed performances. We
must also acknowledge the performances of Messrs Marshall and
Walsh who have weighed in with goals as well as the brace from
Elliott and the opportunism of Taggert in the opposition's area.
Strength in depth is the catch phrase these days and much to
everyone's surprise Leicester City have shown that what they
lack in star quality they more than make up for with team spirit
and a 'never say die' attitude. That combined with self belief
are qualities that cannot be bought. It's also very encouraging
to see good players emerging from the Youth Team set up eg Oakes,
Campbell, Wilson, Thomas, Stewart and Hodges, and I know here
are one or two more.
Whatever MON does to his players when he has a 'word in their
ear' it seems to work beautifully and we now find ourselves very
much in contact with European qualification on various fronts.
So at this stage it's best not to dwell on the opposition but
rather more to concentrate on ourselves and take the game to
West Ham on Saturday. It will be more than interesting to see
who we have fit and available for the match.
Did You Know?
1.West Ham Utd started life in 1895 as Thames Iron Works FC which
explains their badge and their nickname The Hammers.
2.Harry Redknappp is only West Ham's 8th manager in 99 years.
3.West Ham played in the first ever Wembley FA Cup Final in 1923
which they lost 2-0 to Bolton.
4. Martin Peters's move from West Ham to Spurs in 1970 was then
Britain's first £200,000 transfer.That's very interesting
-also Mr Peters did not spend his time after football lying on
a beach counting the millions he earned.
5.Surprisingly no West Ham player has ever won the PFA Player
of the Year award.Surprising because they once had three World
Cup Winners in their team including hat trick hero Sir Geoff
Hurst,the other World Cup Final scorer Martin Peters and Captain
Bobby Moore who after all the drama of the '66 Final still remembered
to wipe his hands before receiving the trophy from Her Majesty
the Queen.......what a gent(there's very few of us left)
6.Last season they were KO'd from our Cup Competitions by Swansea
and Northampton Town.This year they were KO'd from the League
Cup after having to replay the game against Villa for fielding
an ineligible player and then losing the replay despite being
in font with only 10 mins. to go. There is a certain vulnerability
to them.
7.Last season the club's under - 19 side won both the FA Youth
Cup and FA Premier Youth League.
8.Harry Redknapp has stated that it is his long term aim to see
at least five home-grown players in the first team which in the
light of some clubs 'foreign policy' is very encouraging and
heart warming.
9.Harry is the lady supporters' favourite manager in The Premiership.........
they like guys like Harry you know a bit soulful, warm hearted
and emotional. Remember how upset he was when the
board sold Andrew Impey to us without consulting him?(Remember
how upset Martin was when he found out he didn't like running
around much?) Imagine how Andrew Impey felt being sold to a club
that made him run about and get fit.
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