An American on the way . . . ?

U.S. national team striker Edson Buddle’s agent confirmed on Monday that the player is currently on trial at West Ham. The 30-year-old Buddle is currently plying his trade at 2-Bundesliga side Ingolstadt although he appears to be surplus requirements at a club looking to reduce its payroll. He is the German’s club leading scorer this season with 6 goals in 16 games and is a strong, mobile striker for the American national team. I remember watching Buddle come through the ranks of our local MLS team, the Columbus Crew, although he didn’t really blossom until he moved to the LA Galaxy in 2008. It’ll be interesting to see if he is signed on and how he’ll fit into a crowded striker situation at West Ham. With Sam Baldock out with an injury, West Ham is down to three first team strikers so Buddle may be able to provide some depth to what has been an underwhelming strike force, aside from Carlton Cole.

Not a bad debut . . .

West Ham’s famous Academy produced a nice, albeit unintended, debut for young Dan Potts on Saturday. Kudos to the boy for a strong performance at left back against Barnsley. Starting the game because of a pregame injury to Abdoulaye Faye, the 17-year-old showed that just maybe the new crop of youngsters coming through the system will be ready to contribute sooner rather than later. Son of former Hammers captain Steve Potts, Dan had just signed his first professional contract only a day before what turned out to be his first team debut. His rise to first team football is especially impressive considering he was diagnosed with leukemia at only 12 years old. An impressive game and congratulations to the youngster on his Man of the Match-worthy performance. Here’s to hoping for more from Mr. Potts and some of his Academy classmates.

Time for a good wash . . .

Athletes are a superstitious bunch, and fans are no better. I blame myself for some of the struggles the team has endured over the past season and a half, since I only just realized my own abilities to affect my team’s fortunes. I can’t remember the last time West Ham won a game while I wore my jersey. I do however, remember losing to Liverpool 3-0 in a bar filled with Pudlians, blowing a 2-0 lead to ManU at home, watching Nigel de Jong of all people score from 20 yards out, and now checking the Reading score to see 2 red cards and another 3-0 thrashing. All games I’ve worn my jersey in so I’m doing my part this week by throwing the accursed thing in the laundry and hopefully washing the bad luck away. If nothing else, even if we drop another game I can lose myself in the smell of a fresh, spring rainfall.

Not condoned behavior, but . . .

Tough result to swallow, losing 3-0 on the road. I’m conflicted on my feelings about Jack Collison’s red. Yes he deserved it and shouldn’t have reacted the way he did, but part of me is happy that he cares enough to do something about Jimmy Kebe’s showboating. I think it’s fair to say everyone got what they deserved out of the situation. Collison sits for a couple games, Kebe is exposed as a prat, all’s well that ends well.

Out of the cup . . .

Always finding new ways to lose.  Up by 2 aggregate goals with just one half to play, West Ham snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, conceding 2 goals in the second half and the crucial winner in extra time to bow out of the Carling Cup.  It’s amazing how much of a one-half team we are.  You can count on at most 45 minutes of solid play, with the other 45 being seat-of-your-pants defending and hopeless long balls to no one in particular.  For all the positive play, smooth passing, and solid defending of the first half, the second half was equally as bad, if not worse.  Carlton Cole had one of the great goals of the season but it was all Birmingham after half time.  Kudos to them for taking the initiative and really turning the tie around, but it makes you wonder how many goals West Ham has to be up for any lead to feel secure.  Good game to watch for a neutral observer, but the only good thing to come out of it is that we don’t have to lose to Arsenal in the final now.  Lord knows how that would have gone, I would never have heard the end of it from my Gunner-supporting friends.  Just let the numbness wash over you . . .

Random Musings . . .

• Good showing on Saturday against Everton.  If you had told me before the game that we could go into Goodison Park and get a point, I would have taken it.  Never would I have imagined the team playing as well as they did.  The two points dropped may be crucial come the end of the season, but if the team can play the rest of the season with the kind of spirit exhibited on Saturday, we just might stay up this year.  A real measure of the performance can be had by reading the Everton fan blogs – for the most part the opposing writers were as surprised as we were.  Now whether that is an indication of their discontent with their own team or a reflection of ours is still left to be determined.
• The Olympic Stadium announcement has been delayed.  Personally, I don’t see what the hold up could be and the delay worries me that West Ham’s bid will not win out.  I was under the impression that keeping the running track was non-negotiable issue, which would lead you to think that Tottenham’s bid would have no chance.  Why you would want to tear down a brand-new stadium to build another is beyond my comprehension, but perhaps Tottenham’s deeper pockets means that they have more say in this than I would like.  If West Ham doesn’t win out, I can see the more realistic outcome being that the Legacy Council will stick to their original plans and not have a football club move in at all.  Nowhere was it said that a team had to get the stadium, so this may be the end result after all.  Disappointing for sure, but if we don’t get it, then I don’t think any of the other bids should either.  I’m not sure what I think about the plans to move in, but if it comes down to West Ham staying at Upton Park while Tottenham moves into our territory in a larger, newer stadium, I think most Hammer fans would opt for the move ourselves, regardless of the running track.  It’s quite like the Red Queen’s Race in Through the Looking Glass: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
• Needless to say it’ll be a big game today against Birmingham.  With Fredric Piquionne getting sent off, Carlton Cole still nursing an injury, and Victor Obinna still in enforced time-out for his red card, our attacking prospects may seem a little grim.  Could there be a Benni McCarthy sighting, or will the front line be more of a “the future is now” party with Zavon Hines and Frank Nouble attending?  It’s awful to think this way, but we don’t need a goal to progress, so a 0-0 scoreline might be possible.  Then again, we may not need any goals from our forwards if Johnny Specs can continue to be our beacon of hope.  Birmingham is coming off a thrashing at the hands of Manchester United, so who knows if they’ll come out roaring or broken.  I feel that if we can survive the first 15 minutes of both halves, we’ll be in the final.

Inauspicious beginnings . . .

Tough start there, Wayne Bridge.  This week, £90k got West Ham 1 conceded goal, 1 conceded assist that led to another goal, and a penalty kick conceded that led to a third goal.  Well maybe since he signed on Wednesday, he was only paid £38k this week.  It can only go up from here, right?