Day 2 - and yes, Bobby Moore is still outside my window.

Day 2 - The West Ham adventure continues...

Just checking to make sure Bobby Moore is still out there....


Yep. Lovely to see the sunrise over beautiful East Ham - I'll take you on a little tour this Saturday and we'll follow my families footsteps from 120 Wakefield Street to the Chicken Run in the East Stand.

So, Day 2. And yes, I did get to kick a ball in front of at least four West Ham coaches and no I haven't been offered a contract yet. Hope springs eternal.

Here was the day for you:

Breakfast - English and full. You can't beat a morning banger, beans and bacon. Looks like the 'bound to lose weight while coaching' theory is not going to hold up. Good conversation while Libya falls apart in the background. Still all wondering what Chelsea would do without Anelka.

Mike Kelleher rans us through the state of play with respect to soccer academies. He used to work for the Premier League, so he knows the set up and rules inside out. There were 34 created back in '98 off the back of Howard Wilkinson's 'Charter for Excellence' - and that name should strike fear into the heart of any soccer guru. He managed Leeds..... West Ham has always been part of the system and is making serious moves to step in line with the FA's newest plan to grade academies on a 1 to 5 scale. I'll speak more about the rules but let's say there are many rules and much is designed to ensure quality and manage the amount of soccer a child plays in each year. Michael Owen is a great example of what happens before the system is created - he played around 100 games a year for several teams and as a professional has been plagued with injuries. Ben Illingworth joins the conversation and adds he went to school with Chris Waddle - classic tales follow!

Next, a quick tour of the ground. We'll tAke a more detailed visit on Froday but this is the point, as a Hammers fan, that the blood pressure rises. I'll let the pics do the talking.....


Chairman's room


Director's box


Their view of the pitch


Liz is a Hammers fan...


Dressing room..........





Tunnel



Touching, but not stealing, damaging or upsetting the PITCH. OMG...

OK, you see I have never touched the grass before. I've played at Roots Hall, home of the Shrimpers aka Southend Utd. Unfortunately the only shot I had that day went over the old north end and down Prittlewell Chase.

Off to the training ground. Raining and field sodden so we're inside. We were met by Paul Heffer, who talked to us about the academy more and we looked at how the club uses video to anaylsis performance of players, the team and opponents. Much discussion about the style and technique of a handful of players at Barcelona. Their systems are held in high regard. Much more on that in a later blog.

Then it's was time to put on the boots. Which should I wear? Which would propel me to stardom and have the Hammers reaching Champions League status in one season off the back of my 3 goals a game?

Went for comfort over speed. Ian and then Trevor put us through our paces. 2 hours of coaching typically given to the U11 players. I feel old, jet lagged and slow. Managed to score one lovely goal and then run majestically to hug Paul in celebration. Unfortunately then moment Avram Grant walked in was probably the second time I was on my arse.

We spent time reviewing Barcelona's style of play, which is a contributing factor in the review of coaching at West Ham. Already an outstanding academy yet never leaving a stone unturned. We joined the academy coaches inservice and looked at the benefits of a 4-3-3 system. Nick talked us through the possibilities and then we went outside to watch a mix of U13 and U14 run a 4-4-2 v 4-3-3 game with every coach watching.

Several years ago Paul started talking about a player called Joe Cole. He said he'll play for England one day - the same conversation happened with Glen Johnson. It doesn't always work out but when we were told to look for Alfie, we paid attention. Currently Alfie is a stand out player. Magic to watch and breathes some life back into the hope for the Hammers and England.

We finished off with some U12 indoors and then back to the hotel at the stadium.

While Libya collapses, Manchester Utd were on the telly in the Champions League. Dour compared to 4-4-2 v 4-3-3. One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one overhead kick make a player. Alfie gets my vote over Rooney every time.

So Day 2 drew to a close with more plans to get on the pitch this Sunday. Latest idea - dress as Gerrard - hide in the crowd, hope he chases a ball down and falls over the edge - pop up as the fake Gerrard while crowd sit on the real one - run around field pretending to have long legs and take endless shots from 50 yards - give the ball to $80 million Andy Carroll and watch him fold under the pressure. Bound to work...

COYI -$20 for the first comment explaining that....

Oh, videos to come. Technology is getting the best of me today.