In need of a laugh? Chelsea will this time next week.

Something special happened yesterday. West Ham United won at home for the first time in 6 months. I mean, come on guys - I go to the dentist every six months and that's because I'm supposed to. The good news is the Hammers are nestled nicely right behind the top 2 having picked up some good players - I hope they slowly start to dominate the division. I'm glad to be out of the premier league right now - two games against Manchester United is enough to give anyone a heart attack. I also spoke about the outstanding Academy last week. Another source, the www.sport.co.uk site listed West Ham as the fourth best Academy in the World. Well, there it is. I sometimes struggle to comprehend that, whichever team you support why wouldn't you invest in something as fundamental as a youth program?

It's Rooney - quick...run away...

Oh, Benfica and Chelsea. If I were you I'd spare yourself the embarrassment and save a few quid by not arriving to play Man Utd this coming week. Poor old Arsenal and now Bolton. I suspect Leeds are having second thoughts about the Carling Cup visit of the Champions. It was supposed to be a giant killing cup night - might just turn their season into a dismal disappointing nightmare they never recover from, like a visit from a Demontor.




Ok - so now I slipped a little Python in there (if you pardon the expression). I suddenly feel the need to produce a top four greatest comedy moments according to the all knowing selfonsoccer.


In no particular order and with some video for your entertainment:


1: Faulty Towers. Mrs. Richards. I can do the entire script. 

2: Harry Hill. The 'mash -chop' ratio.

3. Morcambe and Wise. The Stripper.

4. Kevin Turvey investigating Leisure

OK. I feel better now. Was there any soccer content in the blog? Nah, not really. I was thinking  earlier in the week how proud I was of the performance of my JV team as they were being smashed 6-0. The lads are all young and physically small. Their opponents, solid country boys, were big and fast so anything in a one on one race was a non starter for us. Despite this imbalance we played the far superior football and moved the ball around excellently at times. It's often the case that the less physically developed players have to over emphasize the quality of the technique and vision to compensate. In the end we all grow up - so there comes a point we the initial advantage of a growth spurt is negated. Joe Cole was always small at the Academy. We hope his career gets a boost following his move to Lille, France. 


Next week I'll be up in Minnesota running a Regional Player ID Camp for West Ham United IA. You can see more details at www.westhamunitedacademyinternational.com.


I hope the comedy put a smile on your face - September 11 is a tough day in the US. Especially on the 10th Anniversary. Like the Kennedy Shooting, we all remember where we were at the time. I was back in the UK at school teaching. Someone mentioned buildings coming down in New York around 2pm. I was a hour away from a big soccer tournament at my school. We still played and no one said a word. It was very surreal to come home to the news. I flew through Newark about 2 weeks later. Never seem so many guns in an airport in my life. 


I hope your Sunday was peaceful. God Bless - whichever yours is.


Have a good week.