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Thoughts from The Kiwi Hammer

The current state of affairs at West Ham United may look grim, but there are positive moments still to come.

Newcastle United v West Ham United - Premier League
Edimilson Fernandes vs Newcastle United
Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Hello, and welcome back to Brace The Hammer where in this article, TheKiwiHammer will look at a couple of things which are unfolding within the Club and offer his thoughts on them.

West Ham United vs Huddersfield Town AFC:

Well, here we are. Game Week 4 for West Ham United is about to kick off with a showdown between West Ham and newly promoted Huddersfield Town AFC. Am I concerned? Of course I am. Huddersfield are undefeated in their first 3 Premier League games, and they appear to be getting somewhat stronger.

However, as with most things, they will have a weak spot. All we need to do is find out where exactly it is, then expose it.

This will not only be David Wagner’s first visit to the London Stadium, but it’ll also be the return home for West Ham United as well as we return from our opening 3 games which have been away.

The London Stadium Opening Ceremony with a friendly against Juventus last season

The William Carvalho Situation:

Ah yes, it is about time I offer my thoughts on this. There has been no greater farce other than the current situation we find ourselves in. Sporting Clube de Portugal has well and truly come out swinging, and rightfully so as they claim West Ham United have made illegal attempts to move the player from Sporting to West Ham (a move he is very much keen for, I might add.)

Now, in my mind, it takes a lot of brass to call David Sullivan and David Gold what they are in the public domain, but it’s another thing to make questionable accusations. Calling Sullivan out as a “liar” and a “parasite” may be somewhat true, but West Ham fans have been doing that for years, so it’s nothing new there.

In my opinion, this is one big game of “he said, she said” with Sullivan and Gold ‘leaking’ emails to prove their side of the story. What does Sporting have to say about it? Apparently, they’re sticking to their guns about it all, but for continued coverage relating to this, be sure to look out for articles posted by members of the Brace The Hammer team.

Borussia Dortmund v Sporting Clube de Portugal - UEFA Champions League
Carvalho in Sporting colours during a Champions League group stage match against Borussia Dortmund.
Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images

The Players Return:

Several members of West Ham’s first team have been spotted training at the London Stadium as we look to play Huddersfield very soon. And for once, there have been no injuries to first team players. The clock continues to tick and tock for Slaven’s future, with many calling for either Rafa Benitez or Roberto Mancini to come to the London Stadium should Slaven fail.

I’ve had a lot of thinking, spoken to a couple of Newcastle fans and have come to the decision that while Rafa did clear a lot of deadwood from the Newcastle cupboards and lead them to a Championship trophy, they generally haven’t been too bad under Benitez. His future at St. James’ Park is also in doubt, but with a former Premier League winning manager thrown around the toy box, it would be preferred if West Ham selected Mancini from Zenit St. Petersburg to come to West Ham after Slaven.

Knowing the two Daves and Lady Brady the way we do, don’t be at all surprised if Steve McLaren’s name is selected... Mind you, anyone is better than him anyway.

FC Zenit Saint Petersburg vs FC Rubin Kazan - Russian Premier League
Roberto Mancini for Zenit St. Petersburg
Photo by Epsilon/Getty Images

The Sleeve Sponsor:

This is something which has been recently adapted for the Premier League clubs as an extra revenue income source and I think the idea behind is it somewhat okay. I can see the positives, but also the negatives behind it. For the sake of your eyes and this article, I’ll list one positive and one negative, then carry on with my train of thought.

Positive: As mentioned, this is another source of revenue for Premier League clubs, it’s all about advertising a brand which could benefit the football fan and will be a mainstay for a little while.

Negative: However, you will see numerous clubs being supported by the same sleeve sponsor which could be a little boring to see after a while.

West Ham United have signed an agreement with Indian tyre outfit MRF Tyres which will see their red logo splashed out on the left sleeve of ALL West Ham shirts for the next couple of seasons. MRF Tyres are also with Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion as well, I might add.

On the kits for this season, it does stand out, but I’m not sure if I like it or not. Many fans have already voiced their disgust for it, however, I’m not sure if it’s okay, or not. We’ll see.

Mark Noble, Joe Hart and Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez pose with the MRF Tyres sponsored shirts
West Ham United Official Site (www.whufc.com)

The Protests:

I’ll keep this relatively simple and quick.

Yes, I can see the anger and the upset amongst a small fraction of our fans, and I can see the unrest beginning to surface, but why are we protesting? Is it because of the Board? Slaven Bilic? Gold, Sullivan and Brady?

The Board and Brady, Sullivan and Gold won’t leave. I hate to say it, but unless we are bought out by an Arab or American or Chinese business group/businessman, they’re here to stay. Protests and flags and banners condemning these people will not have the effect you want it to have. Of that, I am certain.

Have you thought about how the players performance on the pitch will be if they hear you chanting and shouting for these backroom staff to leave? Focus on the football, focus on cheering on the manager and get behind those boys. The backroom staff may be a constant pain in the you-know-where, but as far as I’m concerned, these protests will only bring more bad results.

Click Here to view the Match Preview video for West Ham United vs Huddersfield Town

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