West Ham v Blackpool - Playoff Final COYI...!!! with live updates...

West Ham United v Blackpool
2012 Championship Playoff Final  - Wembley Stadium

Well, this is it. 12 months languishing in the doldrums of the Championship, formerly known as Division 2.... 90 Minutes away from a meteoric rise back into the Premier League, formerly known as Division 1. Sidebar - I'm sad Div 3 & 4 only got a useless 'League 1 / 2' tag. Less impressive than Galactic Empire Conglomerate 1......    Ok, West Ham..........

2 Hours from kick off. Sitting with Lexi outside. She is wearing her blue England shirt - (thanks Uncle Kyle & Aunty Rachel) and watching Baby Einstein. Clearly she is a Hammers fan judging by the bubbles she likes to blow. I'll be updating as the morning goes along - so refresh the page as the drama unfolds. All will be commented on without use of colorful language. 
OK - 8:04 out here in Indianapolis. You can pick up what the BBC Football Live report is saying here...  I'd post a link to the West Ham website too - but let's face it, no one associated with the club is working today. They are all getting off the train at Wembley Park and entering into a little pre-match banter with the Tangerine Army........

9:10 Lexi still sleeping - congrats to Chris and Amy on the birth of their new son, Michael. Hopefully a future hammers fan. Talked to Dad. Trying to avoid the elephant in the room. General family opinion is:
a) West Ham will win based on Big Sam's experience and the fact a lot of the Hammers players have been in these situations. 
b) But if it's 0-0 at half time or heaven forbid, Blackpool score we'll be right back on the bummer bus heading for downtown depression. Let's face it, us Hammers Fans are the masters of assuming the worse. My dad and I have seen it all - he certainly has. Now, the BBC are experiencing technical issues with their live updates. Is that a sign? More worried now... Trying to see if the teams have been announced. Glad Collison is fit for selection. Lexi is waking and is starting to cry. Must have had a bad dream about Millwall......

Team - Collison is in. Good  Feeding Lexi while typing. BBC Football page has the cheek to have a Lampard link ahead of West Ham's game. Suck it up Chelsea - we all know who made him the player he is - another product of 'The Academy of Football'....

• 01 Green
• 02 Reid
• 05 Tomkins
• 20 Demel
• 04 Nolan
• 10 Collison
• 14 Taylor
• 16 Noble
• 32 O'Neil
• 09 Cole
• 12 Vaz Te

Subs

• 13 Henderson
• 03 McCartney
• 18 Faubert
• 22 Lansbury
• 08 Maynard

Hello to the UK, US, Greece, Brazil, Germany and Bulgaria... COYI....!!!! 16 mins to KO..

  

Updated pics on the video required please!

Cheesy Fox Soccer + doesn't give me the prematch build up - so I have to switch it on at 10 and jump right into the game. That sucks. Still nerves are less raw. 5 to go.....

Kick off - Come on you irons..!!! 

TAYLOR YOU MUPPET....Green saves the day. Blimey - nearly a heart attack... 

As usual the Wembley turf looks dodgy - players slipping. Blackpool fans didn't get the memo - rumor is half their fans stayed at home and those there are Spurs fans wearing their 'I drank 3 tangos' t-shirt...

Should be 2-0 down...... 

Settle down boys - the Hammers are looking shaky right now. Middle of the park looks mad - possible chance there for us.... 

Getting a little better - still looks like the middle is busy.  

Corner 1 close - 2 was poor. 3 better - West Ham talking control now.....COYI...!!! 

1-0 COLE - LOVE IT.....!!!!! 

VAZ TE - I could have stuck that in..... 

Half time - we need another goal to make sure. Blackpool look dangerous but just haven't taken their chances. Gotta stick the ball in the old onion bag if you want to get the job done. Only $140,000,000 at stake over this game. I'm happy with a cuppa and a biscuit - chatting with Scot, who took up the offer to come over. GOOD MAN...!!!!

Latest news - Jesus may have been a West Ham supporter. We all know BARACK OBAMA is a fan... 

Second Half - let's go boys.... 

1-1 Goal scored by Paul Ince's son. West Ham's fans will be spitting blood....

Classic - here we go. Roller coaster ride. 

The back line is all over the place - George is coming on.  

Blackpool are up for it right now - hoping West Ham can put their foot on the ball and take control.

Lexi sleeping - that might be the reason Blackpool scored.  

Are we coming back into it? Great turn an shot by Cole.... should have scored 2 mins ago.

Take it back. Blackpool should be 4-1 up.  

I was at Upton Park when Paul Ince returned with Manchester United. The fans crucified him for 90 minutes - he then scored a last minute goal in a 2-2 draw. We went mental....

Nolan - crossbar. Come on boys - get it going. 

Howard Webb is the man. Great ref. 

2-1 Vaz Te - 4 minutes to go. Madness.....

3 minute to glory. Hold on boys. Stressed out - heart rate up - sweating. lexi sleeping. Forget previous note re her sleep as a factor in West Ham's results.

Done. We are back.

COYI....!!!!!! 

next season

Roy Hodgson and the Mountain to climb

Roy Hodgson’s biggest battle will be with the English media.

There is no doubt the number one job in football carries a public health warning for anyone taking up the reins. Hodgson is, on paper, by far the most qualified applicant for the position of England coach. He has managed in multiple countries and at club and international level. He raised expectations while in charge of Switzerland and Finland and is known by the players under his charge for being an intelligent gentleman with a hands on approach. He has also coached at clubs such as Inter Milan and in doing so has dealt with players claiming superstar status.

But why will his job be so challenging?

The English Media - Bullies?
The Media, lead by the Sun Newspaper (although ‘rag’ may be a more accurate term) has and will relentlessly assess and criticize every decision he makes - and results he produces. The Sun has already sparked a controversy by printing that front page above.

Another stupid headline

There was a public backlash and the FA responded by complaining to The Sun. It was, according to that newspaper, meant to be a joke and they even went as far as to involve Jonathon Ross in a ‘what’s all the fuss about’ style follow up. How far should the media go? We had a poster in our school in Essex saying this - ‘it’s only funny if everyone is laughing’. If not, it’s bullying.

Paid money to come up with this.

The media? They will be expecting Hodgson to pick a squad they themselves approve and also get the results they expect. At the upcoming Euro 2012, a notoriously tough competition, a spot in the final will be the expectation. Unfortunately, Europe represents a disproportionate number of the world’s best teams. Let’s face it, Who else would you include outside Europe in order to cover the best? I would add Brazil, Argentina and possibly Uruguay. 16 teams in Euro 2012 and not a muppet in sight.


The Fans - armchair idiots? (sorry, I include myself though)
Fans will expect:
England to win
England to beat everyone with style scoring 3+ goals a game
The squad selection to match their own personal views

Firstly, as an Englishman it is a painful reminder every two years that the country has only ever one the World Cup once. 1966. That is it. Only the late Sir Bobby Robson took us to a point we thought we could win it again in Italy 1990. We all carry that baggage and no amount of therapy, alcohol or pub bar ranting will overcome the pain until we win something else.

Secondly, intelligent, thoughtful coaches are not the choice of the masses. We love the ‘heart on the sleeve’ motivational half time coach who is 2 seconds away from punching the 4th official and giving the finger to the opposition’s coach. Kevin Keegan was that kind of leader. Eriksson, Capello and now Hodgson are not that person. They are, clever, reflective students of the game who may lack passion on the touchline but provide a depth of experience someone like Harry Rednapp cannot bring to the job.

Thirdly, the passionate ‘Richard the Lionheart’ style coach is also the expectation of our players too. It wouldn’t surprise me if many ‘supporters’ had Beckham, Gascoigne and Pearce in their starting eleven. Players the masses demand do so because they have that gritty ‘would fight you outside the pub’ kind of approach to football. Terry, Gerrard and Rooney all give people what they want. Players with a quiet effectiveness are less desirable. If you pick players who make a difference at the clubs they play, one stands out: Scott Parker. Without him, Spurs are still good but not battling for a Champions League spot. 

There are talented players coming through the ranks. Post South Africa, discussion turned to the players who are 17 and younger. We do have some great young players on the edge of the team, but the Wilshire’s of the world will have to battle for a place with Gerrard and Lampard for a spot on the team. Does Hodgson simply bi-pass a generation and build for Russia 2018? It’s a dangerous game - Gary Lineker was subbed of against Sweden never to return for England under Taylor. He was one goal shy of Bobby Charlton’s record.

The Players themselves    The National Psyche?
Of course, everyone and their dog can predict how England will depart in the competition - on penalties in the quarter final - and that is the best we should expect. The glass really is ‘half empty’ in this country. We love the ‘underdog’ status and are uncomfortable leading from the front. In world standings, we are currently ranked 7th. But, with Italy at 12 and France at 16 you might be forgiven for questioning FIFA’s ranking system. You could picture this in a smoke filled room in Zurich......

(Sepp) damit - gotta knock out an update for the website - rankings table
(Mini-Sepp) - oh hell, you’re kidding? I’m due at the club in 20, booked in for a turkish and a massage with that Ukraine chick.
(Sepp) - come on, we can knock this out - top 10....aaaah let’s see...
(MS) - Spain 1, come on they win everything and Messi plays for Barca, 
(S) - done, better stick Germany in at 2, if Spain don’t win they will.
(MS) - hold on, Brazil? They have Pele...right?
(S) - bollocks, you’re right and those Rio girls are steaming...
(MS) - whoa.... Seppster, Holland?
(S) - screw ‘em. Cruyff’s injured and that bald bloke is always complaining...
(MS) - Robben? oh, total muppet - falls down every 15 seconds too.
(S) - yep - what about the Argies? Come to think of it, Portugal?
(MS) - are we getting that free ride on the Algarve?
(S)- yep - sweet deal.
(MS) - stick the Porties in at 5.
(S) - nice, like it. Let’s bang the Argies in below England. That’ll make them want to invade the Falklands again.
(MS) - haha...OK, nice move. How about slipping Uruguay in above Brazil and the Argies.... that’ll start WW3 down there.
(S) - done. Italy?
(MS) - I hate pasta.
(S) - me too, 12 then below Denmark. That’ll kill ‘em.
(MS) - France?
(S) - Jeeeesssssusss. How many are there?
(MS) - 205.
- sod it. delegate the lot to the cute girl in accounting.


and so on....

Back to psyche. The English must grapple with their dark inner lack of faith. Songs like ‘3 Lions’ may be part of national heritage, but they remind us what we are - underachievers in a game we provided the framework for. It’s hard to overcome deep seated expectation - even telling the time is cautious. In German, the time 8:30 is described as ‘half to nine’. In England we say ‘half past eight’. There you go. Says it all.

Roy Hodgson? I think it is the smart and right choice. He would, in any other profession, be the strongest candidate and subject to references and a strong performance in the interview - get the job. Only in soccer do we vote with our hearts and entirely switch our brains off. I suspect we will be average in Poland & Ukraine this summer. The benefit may be this - a poor showing with existing players provides Hodgson with the fuel to start over and develop the upcoming talent. That’s what I am hoping for.

But, wouldn't it be nice if he did win this summer? Wouldn't it be loverly...