MARK MY WORDS
West Ham star Declan says the sale of Grady Diangana didn’t affect the morale of the team... but after just one miserable game, beaten by goals from Toon’s two new signings, here’s the face of the club captain who publicly opposed the transfer
(AND THEIR NEXT SIX MATCHES? ARSENAL, WOLVES, LEICESTER, SPURS, MAN CITY AND LIVERPOOL) BY MIKE WALTERS MUGGED by familiar nemesis Callum Wilson, fans protesting against the owners, another hopeless opening-day horror show.
Origami specialists West Ham are back in the fold routine already. We’re only one game into the season, so it’s too early to be talking about another relegation battle at the Taxpayers’ Stadium, but the Hammers get full marks for punctuality. Disaffected bubble- blowers, socially distanced from the bio-secure bubble, picketed the main entrance, telling owners David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady to sell up.
Players, led by skipper Mark Noble, are unhappy at the sale of £ 18million prospect Grady Diangana to West Brom and, if the Hammers’ lukewarm display does not ring any alarm bells in the directors’ box, there is nobody home in the belfry.
Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness observed: “When you look at the group of players they have, West Ham should be a mid-table team looking upwards.
But they are heading for another relegation dogfight.
“We are talking about things other than a game of football – we keep coming back to what is happening away from the pitch and it would appear they are an unsettled football club.”
West Ham’s England midfielder Declan Rice said: “I don’t think we could have played any y worse. There is no time to be playing poorly in the Premier League, as we found out last season.
“We went through a dip in form and found ourselves in the deep end and it’s t’s not enjoyable.
Grady Diangana went 10 days ago. He is a big miss for us, but none of that was in our minds – the dust has settled.” That’s five consecutive opening-day defeats for West Ham, with an aggregate score of 17-1. What a treat for Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to turn up at a game where the lobby of angry fans were not aiming their venom at him. Wilson’s ninth goal in eight games against W West Ham, going back to his h hat-trick for Bourn Bournemouth mouth at Upton Pa Park in 2015, turned his h Toon debut into the t stuff of dreams. “I
was a bit disappointed only to get one – I should have had a hat-trick,” said Wilson. ““But I will save those up for later.”
Jeff Hendrick, also making an assured first appearance in black and white, found the top corner three minutes from time to clinch Newcast le ’s deserved win.
In truth, Toon battering-ram Andy Carroll ( celebrating with Hendrick, above) was lucky to escape censure in the opening seconds against his old club for a belligerent challenge on Tomas Soucek. Hammers manager
David Moyes described referee Stuart Attwell’s interpretation of the incident as “generous”, and added: “People tell me they thought it could have been dangerous. But I don’t think that was the reason we didn’t play well enough.”
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce purred: “I think Andy needs a big pat on the back. He’s lost something like 5kg in weight and worked tirelessly on his fitness levels.
“If I hadn’t given him his chance today, he would have quite rightly knocked my door down.”