With all the outside media coverage there is, what is it like for the players? Here's a quick little vid that includes contributions from Angelo Ogbonna and Lukasz Fabianski as well as action from Vlad 'the impaler' Coufal. Click here.
We have a more personal interview with Angelo Ogbonna coming up tomorrow. - Ed
Yarmo Bumps Up His Value
Andriy Yarmolenko scored another goal and made another assist in the Ukraine's nervous 2-1 win over Northern Macedonia, he is currently joint top scorer in the competition and has already scored one of the goals of the tournament.
The new Barclays Premier League fixture list will have been well received by Hammers fans, because for once the club hasn't been handed a run of fixtures against the top six teams to start the campaign with, partly due to the fact that West Ham ARE in the top six themselves!
Hopefully, full Stadiums will be available for fans to embrace the new Barclays Premier League season, traditionally Hammers have always been handed the grimmest of fixtures to start the campaign, and this time is the exception, a full list of the fixtures just announced is here.
Saturday 14 August 2021
Newcastle
15:00
West Ham St. James' Park,
Newcastle
Saturday 21 August 2021
West Ham
15:00
Leicester London Stadium,
London
Saturday 28 August 2021
See, and if possible try before you buy, are the back bone of David Moyes' acquisitions mantra, no longer is the club suffering from 'Hammers Hubris', as it has moved from an amateur dramatic approach to a sleek 'Hollywood' style of attainment.
Yesterday’s Czech Republic v Scotland game was a case in point, where 'supposed' target, Spartak Moscow’s Alex Kral, had a poor game which saw him subbed well before the conclusion of the match. Another 'supposed' Hammers target Adam Hlozek came on but was barely involved.
All of West Ham's European Championship players have so far shone for their respective teams, following on from Declan Rice and Andriy Yarmolenko's performances, Hammers Czech duo, Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek were instrumental in overcoming Scotland 2-0 at Hamden Park, with the former providing the cross for the Czech Republic's first goal.
Jesse Lingard turned up at a pub to watch the England v Crotia match in good spirits, despite having missed the cut for the final England squad. His choice of clothing was 'interesting', he chose to wear an England shirt with Rice and the number 4 on the back, Oh and a PARROT on his shoulder!
England expects is the sort of burden players have suffered from in the past when it comes to playing the actual tournaments rather than the qualifying, but this England team is exactly that, a team. Instead of a disparate set of players in cliques from their clubs, there is a genuine feeling of team spirit, and at the centre, literally, was Declan Rice.
It's amazing what qualifying for a proper European competition does for a club's profile, ironically Pellegrini's disastrous reign will eventually be a positive thanks to the hard graft of David Moyes and his staff. Lots of people around Europe and elsewhere got to hear the name of West Ham due to the Chilean's high profile, so when West Ham are seen on the lists of teams participating in Europe, people who don't have a 'keen' interest in football still assume Pellegrini is in charge!
The will he or won't he doubts as to whether David Moyes would sign a new contract at West Ham have been put to bed somewhat, with the club due to 'officially' announce the managers signature of a new three year deal om Monday. Behind the scenes things weren't quite as straight forward as they had originally seemed, with Everton's sudden need for a new manager being a particular fly in the ointment, however, it appears that David Moyes utilised the 'Everton jeopardy' to ensure certain promises would be put down in writing.