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Things were looking a lot rosier for West Ham when they beat Huddersfield 4-1 at the John Smith’s Stadium early on in January, with fans expecting new signings to come through the door before the deadline day and with the club beginning to look up the Premier League table rather than over their shoulders towards the bottom three.

However, the rest of the month certainly didn’t go to plan for the east London outfit, as they lost in-form duo Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic to hamstring injuries in the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth at the London Stadium.

They were subsequently beaten 2-0 by League One outfit Wigan Athletic a week later and saw midfielder Pedro Obiang stretchered off with an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season, while Arthur Masuaku was given a six-match ban after being sent off for spitting at a Latics player at the DW Stadium.

The addition of Joao Mario on loan from Inter Milan until the end of the season prior to the Wigan encounter gave fans hope that they would end January on a high, as the club continued to be linked with Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker – seen as one of the most highly-rated young defensive midfielders in European football.

The London Stadium faithful were also expecting a new striker through the door with Diafra Sakho joining Rennes and Andre Ayew returning to Swansea City, leaving Javier Hernandez and Toni Martinez as the only recognised strikers in the squad for the 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace on January 30.

One thing David Moyes didn’t need at that point – when he was already missing Arnautovic and Andy Carroll through injury – was Michail Antonio to turn up to a meeting late, but that is exactly what happened and he missed out on the 18 against the Eagles.

Deadline day started with hope, and then appeared to end in desperation for the club as they failed to sign the defensive or central midfielder they desperately looked to need, while they lost out to Newcastle United for the loan signing of Leicester City striker Islam Slimani because of comments made by Karren Brady, and instead brought in Jordan Hugill from Preston North End in a late £10m deal.

The West Ham fans aren’t very fond of their owners David Gold and David Sullivan, and they had every right to be angry and frustrated after a disappointing final 24 hours of the transfer window.

The club’s injury and suspension problems meant that Pablo Zabaleta lined up in an unfamiliar central midfield role for the trip to Brighton last weekend, with a poor display seeing Moyes’ men fall to a 3-1 defeat against their fellow strugglers to leave them just three points above the relegation zone.

The away supporters chanted for the board to leave and unveiled banners with a similar message, and you can’t help but feel it could have affected the players on a day where the defence in particular had an absolute nightmare – especially for Glenn Murray’s opener.

While West Ham fans are absolutely entitled to protest against the owners and the board considering what has happened to the club during their time at the helm, they also need to think about their players on the pitch and the situation the team currently finds itself in.

Those teams below them in the table – like Brighton – are beginning to pick up results and if the Irons continue to struggle to get wins on the board, they could quickly find themselves back in the dreaded relegation zone.

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They face a huge game against Watford at the London Stadium this weekend where they can reach the 30-point mark with a victory, and the crowd must leave their protestations against the owners to either before the start of the match or after the final whistle, and get behind their boys during the 90 minutes – boy do they need it right now.

West Ham supporters are understandably desperate for their owners to go, but being in the Premier League is vital too and with David Gold and David Sullivan unlikely to go anywhere before the end of the season and saying the protests “will achieve nothing”, now is the time to focus their attentions on the players and ensure that they aren’t distracted or affected by any animosity from the sidelines.

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A penalty is awarded. Save it and the goalkeeper is a hero, applauded by his fans and mobbed by his teammates. Concede? Well, the odds were never in his favour anyway.

As Tottenham’s Brad Friedel has argued, the scenario really is “a no-lose” situation for the ‘keeper with all of the pressure upon the taker “who is supposed to score.”

But this shouldn’t give goalkeepers a free pass to simply pick a direction to dive and hope for the best.

With the extensive level of statistics available in modern football, coaching staff can compile information on opposing penalty takers to provide to their ‘keepers in the event of a spot kick being awarded.

Famously at the 2006 World Cup, Jens Lehmann read the notes of his goalkeeping coach Andy Kopke in between kicks as Germany went on to defeat Argentina in the shoot out.

But even with this information, the days of goalkeepers diving before the ball is struck should be consigned to the past.

There is an infuriating number of penalties which are scored either straight down the middle or slightly off centre. By committing early as the result of coaching guidance or just guesswork, goalkeepers are guilty of allowing these weak efforts to score. And because of the scenario, they will never be subject to any criticism for it.

Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer demonstrated the approach that goalkeepers should take with his save from Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil in the recent Champions League encounter. Standing up tall, Neuer made his international colleague’s attempts to commit him to a dive look foolish and as a result, he was able to make the save from a poorly struck effort.

Premier League stars such as Eden Hazard and the recently departed Dimitar Berbatov regularly profit from the tactic which Ozil tried but failed to replicate. Displaying an impressive level of composure, they simply wait for the goalkeeper to commit to a side in the run up before simply slotting it home in the other direction.

By diving early, the goalkeepers are falsely assuming that the strike is always going to hit one of the corners. In reality, how many penalties are ever struck that perfectly?

And in the event that they are, is an early dive really going to make the save? When penalty takers such as Steven Gerrard hit the corners with such accuracy and power, there is nothing a goalkeeper can realistically do to prevent the goal.

In this event, the ‘keepers should concede that they are unlikely to make the stop. Rather than attempt to prevent the best, goalkeepers should stand tall and pick off the worst.

Of course, this tactic relies on anticipation and a good reaction speed.

But when so many penalties are struck slightly to either side or ‘dinked’ straight down the middle, goalkeepers should fancy their chances to save the weaker efforts more often than not.

As has already been mentioned, the pressure in this scenario is always upon the taker to deliver. Make him have to beat you rather than beating yourselves by committing too early.

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There are obviously other pointers that goalkeepers should observe to help them make the save. Factors such as the taker’s stance, his approach and his eyes can often reveal his intentions.

Tactics can also be employed to distract the penalty taker and affect the quality of his strike. In the 2008 Champions League Final, Manchester United’s Edwin Van Der Sar pointed to his left as Nicolas Anelka approached the area. The Frenchman subsequently went right and the penalty was saved, handing the Red Devils the trophy.

By standing tall and waiting for the kick, goalkeepers are sacrificing their already minimal chances of saving the best efforts. But in this trade off their chances of saving the weaker and less accurate strikes, of which there are more of, are enhanced massively.

The pressure in a penalty situation is never placed upon the goalkeeper. By reacting to the kick and not diving beforehand, the strain for the taker is even greater. They know that anything other than a confident strike into the corners should be saved.

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Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger has indicated that he may use Theo Walcott in a central-striking position following his Capital One Cup heroics.

The England international netted a wonderful hat-trick as the Gunners came back from 4-0 down to beat Reading.

The 23-year-old grabbed the Londoners first goal, before adding the equaliser in the dying moments of normal time. He then went on to complete his triple in closing stages of extra time to help his side to their 7-5 victory.

As a result of his performance, Wenger has confessed that he may now play Walcott in his preferred central role:

“I always said he will be striker.” Wenger is quoted as saying by The Metro.

“He’s a good finisher now. He knows where to be on the rebounds.

“That is the quality of a striker you can’t give to someone, they either have it or they don’t.

Walcott’s immediate future appears to be in some doubt, with the player rumoured to be unwilling to renew his contract, which expires at the end of the season.

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After his heroics, Wenger admitted that he wants a speedy resolution to the attacker’s future:

“I want to keep him, and I think aside from the contract talks, you have to give him credit for the way he is committed to the team, and for the way he behaves.”

Oh my goodness me.

Queens Park Rangers almost sent their fans into meltdown earlier this week when they posted a picture of Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann on their official Twitter page.

Griezmann is being strongly linked with a move away from Atletico this summer, with Barcelona the favourites to sign the Frenchman.

And the attacker, who is valued at £90m by transfermarkt.co.uk, again revealed to disclose his future plans at a France press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”252976″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch 21 things that will definitely happen at the World Cup”]

Griezmann actually liked a tweet from QPR where the Championship club’s players discussed who could take home the World Cup Golden Boot this summer.

QPR pointed out what had occurred on their official Twitter page, and that led to a host of the club’s supporters commenting on the future of Griezmann.

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There is more chance of Panama winning the World Cup than Griezmann making the move to QPR this summer, but the R’s supporters can still dream of the impossible.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

According to reports in The Sun, Everton are lining up a shock late January move for £15m-rated West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon, despite the fact they have already bought Cenk Tosun from Besiktas in a £27m deal.

The Sun says the Toffees are reportedly keen to bring the Venezuela international to Goodison Park before the transfer window slams shut on Wednesday after he caused all sorts of problem in his team’s 1-1 draw against the Merseyside outfit last weekend.

The 28-year-old, who was also involved in the unfortunate incident that saw James McCarthy suffer a double leg break, has 18 months left on his contract at the Hawthorns, but continues to be a regular starter under Alan Pardew.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez is desperate to strengthen his frontline before the end of the month and has been heavily linked with a club-record deal for Feyenoord centre-forward Nicolai Jorgensen.

However, there has been progress in negotiations with the Eredivisie outfit for the 27-year-old Dane as of yet, and bringing Rondon to St James’ Park instead could prove to be a shrewd move.

Here are three reasons Newcastle must forget Jorgensen and hijack Everton’s move for the 6ft 1in attacker…

Premier League experience

Despite his impressive goal record for Feyenoord, Jorgensen has never played in the Premier League before and it would certainly be a huge risk to rely on him to score the goals to keep Newcastle away from the relegation zone in the coming months.

Coming from the Eredivisie and making an impact in the Premier League can be difficult – as the Magpies know all too well thanks to players like Siem and Luuk de Jong – and Rondon would certainly be less of a risk from that point of view.

The Venezuela international is quickly approaching 100 English top flight appearances for West Brom, and he knows exactly what to expect and what is needed to be successful at this level.

His qualities

While he has never been a prolific goalscorer for West Brom – which has been difficult for a lone centre-forward considering the Baggies were never a team that created plenty of chances under previous boss Tony Pulis – he has plenty more to his game than just being able to find the net.

The 28-year-old has scored 23 goals in 105 matches in total for the west Midlands outfit, but his work rate is impressive and he isn’t afraid to throw his weight around and cause big problems for opposition defenders – as he did at Goodison Park last weekend.

That fight and his ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play could be vital for a club like Newcastle in their survival bid in the coming months.

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Price tag

The Chronicle Live reported on Tuesday that Jorgensen could set Newcastle back a club-record £20m fee before the window slams shut on Wednesday, but Rafa Benitez should be tempted to switch his attentions to Rondon if it is true that he could be signed for a fee of around £15m.

To sign an experienced Premier League player who can make a difference for them in the next couple of months for that amount is a no-brainer, and the Magpies would be mad not to hijack any Everton move for the 28-year-old.

Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.

Following the announcement of Roy Hodgson’s World Cup squad, English football has felt compelled to pay tribute to its most glaring omission, Chelsea defender Ashley Cole. After rejecting a place on England’s stand-by list for Brazil, the Three Lions centurion has called time on his international career, spanning over a decade.

The acknowledgements of Gary Lineker, Michael Owen et al. are more than deserved – for all the failings of England’s golden generation, Cole’s performances over the last ten years have not been one of them.

Yet, spare a thought for Manchester United’s Michael Carrick. The Red Devils midfielder also failed to make Hodgson’s cut for Brazil, marking what will most likely be the final chapter in one of the most unfortunate international careers an England player has ever endured.

Unlike Cole, Carrick did accept to be on the Three Lions’ stand-by list. But with the power of youth the flavour of the month and seven players already in the squad  capable of operating in central midfield, the chances of a last minute promotion for the 32 year-old remain incredibly slim.

Despite a glistening club career, including five Premier League titles and a Champions League medal from 2008, Carrick’s efforts for his country have constantly been overshadowed by two players – Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard. Perhaps understandably so; they’re the two highest-scoring midfielders in Premier League history, and both reached 100 caps for England during the last World Cup qualifiers –  their quality and experience is impossible to understate.

But it’s not the quality and experience of Gerrard and Lampard that Carrick has spent his Three Lions career fighting against. Rather, the twosome’s inability to work effectively together in the same midfield – the Gerrard-Lampard-Midfield complex if you will – has resulted in endless engine room experiments by prior and current England managers, including such obscure variables as Owen Hargreaves, Gareth Barry, Scott Parker, Leon Osman and even Phil Neville.

From all the aforementioned names, only Parker and Osman – two more recent England inductees – boast less caps than the Manchester United midfielder. Indeed, throughout an England career spanning three clubs, 13 honours for United, three major international tournaments and thirteen years, an eternally injury-free Michael Carrick has claimed just 31 caps. Only twenty of his England outings have come as starts. Gareth Barry and Owen Hargreaves on the other hand – two of the most ineffective players I’ve ever seen in a Three Lions jersey – enjoy 53 and 42 caps respectively.

Carrick’s biggest crime, in comparison to England’s other midfielders, is his unusually passive, almost Italian nature of play. There’s no doubting his quality; when a youngster at West Ham’s famous ‘The Academy of Football’, the Geordie showed such trickery, invention and skill on the ball that scouts often mistook him for youth team-mate Joe Cole, whose reputation had already begun to precede him throughout England. They were soon surprised to discover that the Pele-incarnate in front of them was considered by himself and the club as a defensive midfielder.

Carrick has always oozed that class, but whilst Steven Gerrard would burst from one end of the pitch to the other, tackling everything in his path before unleashing a howling piledriver at goal, and Frank Lampard would ghost into the box to pick up at least ten goals per season, the United midfielder was controlled and calculated, subtle yet effective, intrinsically influential but often unnoticeable to the naked eye.

If the 32 year-old were more swashbuckling or cavalier, if he were positionally iller-disciplined or more wasteful on the ball, prepared to shirk his own responsibilities for moments in the goal-scoring limelight or willing to squander possession cheaply for the sake of the occasional exceptional 60 yard through ball, like his Chelsea and Liverpool counterparts, then perhaps he would be an England centurion by now too. Had his defensive contribution consisted of running around like a headless chicken or always being ‘the first man in the wall’, rather than unceremoniously anticipating and intercepting through the powers of his footballing intellect alone, then perhaps he would be at least an England half-centurion, like Gareth Barry.

With Lampard and Gerrard reaching their veteran years, thus losing that athletic element which made them such eye-catching dynamic midfielders, Brazil 2014 was billed as Carrick’s World Cup. A rare location of football’s pinnacle tournament that beckons three man midfields, an integral emphasis on maintaining possession and stressing the powers of the mind over the impact of the athlete, England’s unusual requirements for Rio paved the way for the 32 year-old to finally earn the recognition internationally that his club career deserves.

Admittedly, on merit, it’s hard to argue that Carrick deserves a place over the youthful midfield clan Hodgson has selected instead. Whilst the likes of Ross Barkley, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana have just ended sensational coming of age campaigns, the 32 year-old has endured the most disappointing season of his career at Manchester United. Being one of the Old Trafford elders, despite the limited quality surrounding him in central midfield, Carrick must accept a share of the responsibility for the Red Devils’ enormous downturn from last term. In many ways it also highlights the England international’s most repetitive flaw; being a rather passive player, his performances are often only as good as those around him.

But had the World Cup been a year ago, then Carrick would have started for England in Brazil, let alone make the squad. He played a crucial part in United claiming their 13th Premier League title last season, accordingly earning the Players’ Player of the Year award at Old Trafford and a place in the PFA Team of the Year.

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In comparison, Steven Gerrard was yet to reinvent himself as the deep-lying, Michael-Carrick-esque playmaker as that’s brought him and Liverpool such success this season, Jack Wilshere was still recovering from  a year-long injury, much of the country hadn’t heard of Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana boasted a rather small, Southampton-based cult following.  Had Brazil 14 been Brazil 13, the United veteran would be selected for England’s engine room by default.

So here lies the international career of Michael Carrick. A five-time Premier League winner whom, through no other predominant fault than  his unassertive, almost foreign style has been completely wasted by his country for the benefit of two supposedly ‘world-class’ players that to this day cannot operate effectively next to each other in the same midfield. Rio spelt redemption, a final chance to show what Sven Goran-Eriksson, Steve McClaren, Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson had somehow missed, yet, as if fate had conspired against him, the build-up to the 2014 World Cup happened to coincide with Manchester United’s worst season since 1989.

Any other generation, and Michael Carrick would have been one of England’s brightest stars. Any other country, and the 32 year-old’s unique abilities would have received the widespread acknowledgement they deserve. Had Brazil 2014 taken place at the end of any other Manchester United campaign, and the Red Devils midfielder would have been a certainty for Roy Hodgson’s squad. But alas, Carrick remains one of the most wasted and misfortunate players to ever grace an England jersey.

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Theo Walcott will not be able to play in Arsenal’s match against Norwich on Saturday, but it is hoped he will return for the QPR game the week after, the Mirror reports.

Walcott suffered a horrific injury playing for England in their World Cup qualifier against San Marino last Friday, where he was clobbered by the San Marino goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini. The 23 year-old had had difficulty breathing after the incident, and had to stay in hospital overnight, where it was discovered he had a bruised lung. It was announced earlier this week that Walcott would not be able to take part for England, who beat San Marino 5-0, in their World Cup qualifier against Poland.

However, the Mirror reports that Walcott is now recovering. He is expected to start training again later in the week after getting the all-clear.

Walcott hopes to take part In Arsenal’s game against QPR on Saturday week.

England manager Roy Hodgson criticised San Marino’s goalkeeper for the incident after Friday’s qualifier saying: “If I described the challenge as being reckless I would be being kind. It was a very fierce challenge. I don’t believe there was any malice. But it put a dampener on the evening.” He also said of Simoncini: “you’re lucky to have him on the pitch for the rest of the game and not to have conceded a penalty.”

Walcott scored one of Arsenal’s goals in their last fixture, a 3-1 victory against West Ham. It has been rumoured that Walcott may leave the club, with talks over signing a new contract still continuing.

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Leeds fans have been reacting to a report claiming Paul Heckingbottom could leave the club this week, and they’re particularly excited by the possible arrival of Claudio Ranieri.

You know it’s been a bad few months when fans are celebrating the potential departure of a manager like they’ve just scored a goal, and that’s exactly what’s happening on Twitter right now.

According to a report from the Mirror, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is considering Paul Heckingbottom’s future at the club, and could make a decision as soon as this week.

“Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani is considering wielding the axe because he is unsure if Heckingbottom is the right coach to lead them next season,” said the Mirror report.

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The report continues to say the club have “already put out feelers” to a number of potential successors around Europe, and the bookmakers are only increasing the speculation, as Paddy Power suspended betting on former Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri moving to Elland Road.

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Leeds fans mostly agree that the Heckingbottom simply doesn’t have the nous or experience to take the club to where they want to be, and they’re particularly excited about the possible arrival of title winner Ranieri.

Fans have been discussing the reports on Twitter, and you can find some of the best reactions down below…

Newcastle United fans face an anxious transfer deadline day as they await their club making the signings that can help them survive in the English Premier League.The Magpies have failed to make a single signing so far this month, a situation that hasn’t exactly gone down well with supporters.Can the club pull out all the stops at the last minute?One man they were reported to be tracking in the final days of the window was Manchester City defender Eliaquim Mangala, a player who has plenty of experience at the elite level and is rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt.However it appears he’ll be another target they fail to attract to St James’ Park with Sky Sports reporting that Everton are confident of sealing a deal for the Frenchman at some point today.That news has upset Newcastle supporters, who are growing tired of the club’s inability to get deals over the line. Some are even calling it the worst transfer window they’ve ever seen.They took to Twitter to discuss latest developments…

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The narrative now reads: spent a long time at one club, won nothing. Oh how quickly we’ve managed to rewrite history.

Of course, highlighting certain weaknesses and overlooking the positives of David Moyes’ time at Everton helps with the agenda of undermining him in his current job. He never won a trophy at Goodison Park, doesn’t know how to win a trophy, so what good is he at a club like Manchester United, despite Moyes’ predecessor labelling him a natural winner?

Taking away the good that Moyes did also helps to amplify the good that Roberto Martinez has brought to Everton following Moyes’ departure. Ok, the Catalan won the FA Cup, but he consistently had Wigan flirting with relegation, only to lose that battle days after beating Manchester City at Wembley in the final. But he’s doing fairly well now, playing enterprising football; we can overlook those past failings.

The fundamental factor in this attack on Moyes is time, in that collectively the football world seems intolerant of such a concept. From first and champions last season to seventh in the league now, complete with an FA Cup third round exit and a deficit going into the League Cup second leg semi-final against Sunderland.

Moyes has shown himself – at least from the only relevant evidence we have – to be a manager who looks long term. There was a steady build about what he did at Everton. You feel, though, that he had to adapt himself to work within the financial parameters of the club. Arguably the club’s financial restrictions dictated how he would go about his managerial job, but he nevertheless took the club on an upward trajectory and kept them there.

It’s not entirely his fault that there was an obvious glass ceiling preventing him from taking that next step into the Champions League. Moyes won’t be helped by that terrible record at the home grounds of the traditional powers of the Premier League, but he made Everton a regular challengers for the top six. Couldn’t it be said they were punching above their weight, even with the defeats laid on to some of the bigger clubs when welcoming them to Goodison Park?

We’re forgetting that now, though. Importantly, we’re choosing to do so. The pressure is different now for Moyes, added to by the expectation everyone outside Manchester United has and the winning tradition cemented in the club by Ferguson.

Far from saying Moyes looks more comfortable in his current job than he was at the start of the campaign, considering recent results, he does appear to have a better grasp of what’s required. The awe of the place and subsequent careful treading isn’t as obvious.

Moyes will need to take on a new mentality, dismissing the underdog tactics used at Everton and brought to United. He isn’t a winner in tangible terms, but relatively speaking, he has brought success. Martinez is doing well at Everton now, but it would be wrong to suggest it’s all of his own doing.

Moyes has had to deal with changes being made at United, both in terms of the playing personnel and the backroom staff. We like to paint the picture that Moyes failed in the summer transfer window, when it should be labelled as negligence from the club’s hierarchy to entrust two newcomers – Moyes and Ed Woodward – with overseeing a successful transfer window.

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A better summer could have made Moyes’ life easier, but he’d still have to deal with the same problems. The problems of an ageing squad in need of a drastic overhaul, as well as those who simply aren’t pulling their weight needing to be shipped out.

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