Daily WHUFC News - West Ham v Leicester City

Preview - Leicester City
WHUFC.com

Background

West Ham United get their home slate of Barclays Premier League matches
underway on Saturday with the visit of Leicester City.

The 3pm kick-off is an early-season top of the table clash, with Leicester's
4-2 victory over Sunderland last weekend leaving them second in the
embryonic table. West Ham are fourth after defeating Arsenal 2-0.

The Foxes are in their second season back in the top flight, after
completing a remarkable escape last season with a fine run of form,
kick-started by their 2-1 victory over the Hammers in April.

Since then Leicester have changed managers, with former Chelsea boss Claudio
Ranieri the man now in the King Power Stadium hotseat.

Last year's top performer Esteban Cambiasso has left the Club, but the likes
of Mainz striker Shinji Okazaki, Stoke defender Robert Huth and Caen
midfielder N'Golo Kante have all signed up over the summer.

The history

West Ham and Leicester have met on 123 occasions in competitive action, the
Hammers winning 51 and losing 43 of those matches.

Leicester's victory over West Ham in April was their first in eight attempts
against West Ham, with the Londoners enjoying the better of the head-to-head
in recent times.

The Hammers have won the last two Boleyn Ground meetings, 2-0 last season
and 3-2 back in October 2011.

The Foxes have spent all of their history – apart from one season – in the
top two divisions, and are now in their fourth stint in the Premier League,
having lifted the Championship title in 2013/14.

Match info

Team news

West Ham United

The Hammers could call upon midfielder Pedro Obiang after the summer signing
returned to training this week following injury.

Carl Jenkinson is also available after being ineligible to face parent club
Arsenal last week, so Slaven Bilic could be tempted to make a change to his
backline.

Joey O'Brien (hamstring), Enner Valencia (leg) and Andy Carroll (knee) are
all out.

Leicester City

Matty James is out with a knee injury, but otherwise Claudio Ranieri has a
fully fit squad to choose from.

Shinji Okazaki was the only one of Leicester's new signings to start last
week so could feature again alongside Jamie Vardy.

Match facts

The Hammers have won seven of their eight home Premier League games against
Leicester, while the Foxes lost all six of their matches in London last
term.
West Ham are looking to win consecutive games in the Premier League for the
first time in 2015.
Leicester City have won 25 points since the start of April 2015, which is
four more than any other Premier League side.
Both West Ham and Leicester are looking to win their opening two games of a
Premier League season for the first time since 1997-98.
Tickets, coverage, travel and weather news

Tickets for Saturday's game have sold out. However, they may become
available online as Season Ticket Holders relist.
Saturday is Claret and Blue day, so wear your colours to the game, tweet
your pictures using #ClaretAndBlueDay and look out for our celebrations.
Follow the game with live updates and audio on whufc.com, and get involved
in the conversation on social using #WHULEI
There are no closures on the District and Hammersmith & City lines serving
Upton Park on Saturday. Click here for Tube updates and here for National
Rail.
Sunny intervals are predicted on Saturday with a maximum temperature of 20C
(68F).

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From the Terraces - Ollie Hirst
WHUFC.com

Fan blogger Ollie Hirst looks ahead to Saturday's game...

Not even the most ardent of Hammers fans saw Sunday's result coming - not
least the unfortunate bloke who had the result and scorers tattooed onto his
backside. It had been eight years since we got a result there and what a win
it was. It was the classic away performance; we defended resolutely,
attacked with flair and purpose and ultimately, took our chances.

It was unexpected because Arsenal are one of the title favourites, because
of what happened to us in Europe and perhaps, also because we had a player
younger than the £2 coin holding our midfield together. Reece Oxford was
outstanding, though, as was Dimitri Payet (among others) and the problem now
is that uncertainty soon turns to expectation.

At home to Leicester City, who are many people's pick to be down there come
the end of the season, we will be expected to build on Sunday and win. I
guarantee that when each one of us first looked at this season's fixture
list we all thought: two games, three points.

Now, heading into our clash with the Foxes having already reached that
tally, we're hungry for more and quite rightly, too. In many ways, though,
Leicester will be a tougher test than Arsenal.

The way we set up at the Emirates was designed first to absorb pressure and
only then to punish the hosts whenever the opportunity arose. At home, the
impetus will be on us to attack and perhaps things won't be so compact at
the other end as a result - with Leicester looking to be as devastating as
we were on the break.

They'll be full of confidence, having stunned Sunderland with a 4-2 win at
the King Power which, in all honesty, flattered Dick Advocaat's side and are
clearly still buoyed by the form that kept them up against the odds last
season.

This is not me trying to get my excuses in early or anything - quite the
contrary. I'm still expecting the three points I promised myself upon that
first glance at the fixtures two months ago. But nothing's a given even
after last weekend's success and it will be a different game entirely.

Still, the remit this year is clearly to entertain, especially at home. It's
why we appointed Slaven Bilic ahead of others and why we were quick to make
Payet, who created more chances than any other player in Europe's top
leagues last term, a West Ham player. We will be expected to attack.

Football is as much mental as it is physical and there's no question there's
less pressure involved in a trip to the Emirates than there is in your first
home game of the season against favourable opponents.

But we've plenty of reason to be confident and hopefully the fact we already
got those three points on Sunday will allow the players to be a bit more
relaxed. There's also a bit of a buzz around the place at the minute and
that should translate when the lads emerge from the tunnel on Saturday.

Fingers crossed we'll have Diafra Sakho available and Mauro Zarate is in the
form of his life at present, so we've every reason to believe it'll be six
points from six by the time we tune into Match of the Day.

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Slaven Speaks - Leicester City
WHUFC.com

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic faced the media ahead of the Hammers'
first Premier League home game of the season against Leicester City this
Saturday. The boss was quizzed on a wide range of subjects, from Diafra
Sakho, Joey Barton, Morgan Amalfitano to the Foxes, Claudio Ranieri and even
Kasabian. Read what he had to say here...

Good morning Slaven, will you continue to play Diafra Sakho, what
conversations have you had with him?

SB: "He is training, we don't feel it at the training ground. He's been here
every day, he played well against Arsenal. He looks happy, he's not worried
and he's available. For all those reasons I'm happy. You have to talk to
Diafra for all other aspects of the situation."

Are you happy to clarify the situation with Morgan Amalfitano?

SB: "I said when I came in to the players that we need to pull together,
work hard, fight for each other. It's my job to keep the squad together, and
keep together as a unit in the best possible way. If I, along with my staff,
feel like someone is detracting from that atmosphere then we have to react.
It was nowhere near what was in the papers, there was no brawling, it was a
conversation between the two of us and I had to do it. He is not part of the
first team anymore."

What exactly happened with Joey Baron, why isn't he a West Ham player?

SB: "We were thinking about Joey, I like him as a player. We had some talks
and ideas about him but we decided in the end not to do it. It wasn't the
best timing. Joey is a great player and a good lad."

Did it have anything to do with the fans' reaction?

SB: "No, it's the manager's decision and if I wanted to sign someone, I
would have done it."

Are you any closer to signing any new players, can you say anything on Rob
Green or Javier Hernandez?

SB: "There's not a lot to say unfortunately, I can only repeat what I said a
few days ago. We are trying to sign one or two players, not five. It is
hard, it's not easy, it can be frustrating when you see other club's that
have absolutely no limit whatsoever budget wise, even they are struggling,
especially to find strikers. "But we are confident we will get one, and even
if we don't we have a good team. Of course we will have to be lucky with
injuries, that's normal."

First home game of the season in the Premier League, is that a special
moment for you?

SB: "Yes, it is a bit special. It's the first home game against Leicester
who had a great first game last week. They got three points, they played
very well. They are on fire, I watched that game twice, they were quick and
aggressive, at set-pieces, everything. "So they are confident, but also we
are confident after a good result last week. We are playing at home, we know
it will be hard, because every Premier League team is hard. But we will try
to win again, of course."

Their new manager, Claudio Ranieri is known as 'the tinkerman', you can
never predict his side, does that make it more difficult for you?

SB: "No, he's a great manager, with a lot of experience and success. That
isn't going to change the way they are playing. They can change 10%, he can
change the formations, he can tell them to wait a little bit or press us
even higher than they did against Sunderland. But he cannot change the DNA
of the players; he cannot change their qualities or weakness, no matter how
much he tinks."

You said Leicester had a good game last weekend, what are you expecting from
them this Saturday?

SB: "They are on fire, they scored four goals, they just continue to play
the way they finished the end of last season. They are very good at
pressing, they react well when they win the ball. They have a good delivery
from both sides and look dangerous from set pieces. You don't have to be
sloppy for them to punish you, but if you are then you have absolutely no
chance against them. We have to be prepared and stop them."

There's been a lot of talk about Reece Oxford this week; do you anticipate
him becoming a regular in the side?

SB: "It's early days, he played against Arsenal, he's only sixteen, no
matter how mature he is. I don't know whether he'll be a regular but he is a
first team squad player, he will have ups and downs and we will protect him
like any other player, we have to be more aware with him."

Claudio Ranieri said he used Kasabian to help motivate the players against
Sunderland, how do you inspire your team?

SB: "It's a good choice, I don't mind that. He brought a lot of energy to
the team last week, if that's to do with Kasabian then I will leave the
training pitch, go to a music shop and buy all their CDs. I leave it to the
players to decide what they listen to."

Any other injury or team news ahead of Saturday?

SB: "No, Pedro Obiang is back with his injury. There is nothing new from the
Arsenal game. Joey O'Brien, who is still injured, will start to train with
the team after the Leicester game. Andy Carroll is longer of course, but he
is also injury free now. He's only not fit because of the long break, but he
will join us very soon. Of course, Valencia you know the situation with him,
he all hope he will be back with us as soon as possible."

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View on the Visitors - Leicester City
WHUFC.com

Leicester Mercury's Chief Football writer Rob Tanner gives us the lowdown on
Saturday's visitors.

Few may have predicted this, but we've got a top of the table clash to enjoy
this Saturday!

"They certainly didn't, but last Saturday was a fantastic start for
Leicester. You have to put it into context by saying Sunderland were
terrible but despite the managerial upheaval over the summer with Nigel
Pearson leaving and Claudio Ranieri coming in, they seem to have picked up
from where they left off.

"They finished last season off with a 5-1 win over QPR and carried it on by
despatching Sunderland last weekend in emphatic fashion."

It's always good to start the season off with a win, what have you made of
Claudio Ranieri so far?

"I've been very impressed with him. It's early days of course but the way he
handles the media and goes about his business is very impressive. The
performance last weekend said it all really.

"He hasn't changed too much; he's recognised that Nigel Pearson had put in
place some solid foundations and a certain way of playing. Particularly in
the last nine games of last season they had a lot of pace, speed and width.
He has tinkered with it a little bit, as you'd expect from 'the Tinkerman'
but only one of the new signings, Shinji Okazaki, started on Saturday."

Who are Leicester's key men this season?

"Riyad Mahrez was outstanding last Saturday. He was playing out wide whereas
Pearson played him just behind the striker in a more central area. He is
very effective when he's got the ball, he likes to run at people and he was
very influential. Marc Albrighton's deliveries from out wide and set pieces
were outstanding. Every time he puts it into the box it looks like they
might score."

Do you expect much more transfer business before the window shuts?

"Oh yes, I'm sure there will be. They'll try and bring in a midfielder
following Esteban Cambiasso's departure. Ranieri has said he wants a
high-profile champion from somewhere around the world. I think there might
be a striker on the way too."

What are your hopes for the season?

"The great escape was very exciting and a fantastic experience but I'm sure
City fans are hoping they won't go through that again. I think Leicester
will finish mid-table, possible even top half if all goes well. Having said
that, the priority is staying in the division, especially with the new TV
deal coming in, Premier League survival is crucial."

This is probably the last time Leicester will come to the Boleyn Ground,
what are your stand out memories?

"To be honest, it's not a particular game, I've covered several teams in the
Midlands and been many times but it's the atmosphere before a game that
sticks in the mind most. When Bubbles comes on, that's unique. A few years
ago I remember covering a Birmingham City game, and the bus driver scraped
the bus against the railings, much to the delight of the West Ham fans!"

What is your prediction for Saturday's score?

"West Ham played unbelievably well against Arsenal last week so it'll be
tough but I'm going for a draw, 1-1."

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Merson's Predictions.
SSN

West Ham v Leicester (Saturday, 3pm)

A top of the table clash! Both these sides had phenomenal results at the
weekend, but I worry for West Ham in this one. Did West Ham get it right the
other day or were Arsenal poor? Leicester have bundles of pace... West Ham
are going to have to bomb on at home, and the visitors are going to pick
them off. People have been sceptical of Claudio Ranieri's arrival, but they
have some very good footballers at the club already. He is not attempting to
build them from nothing.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (10/1 with Sky Bet)

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Preview: if we're sloppy, Leicester will punish us
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 13, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H

Leicester will arrive at Upton Park full of confidence after an "on fire"
performance against Sunderland last weekend.

Boss Slaven Bilic watched their 4-2 victory over Sunderland and believes
the Hammers have the firepower to derail the Foxes at the Boleyn. He said:
"They are confident, but also we are confident after a good result last
week.

"We are playing at home, we know it will be hard, because every Premier
League team is hard. But we will try to win again, of course."

Describing Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri as a great manager, Bilic added: "He
has a lot of experience and success. That isn't going to change the way they
are playing.

"They can change 10%, he can change the formations, he can tell them to wait
a little bit or press us even higher than they did against Sunderland. But
he cannot change the DNA of the players; he cannot change their qualities or
weakness, no matter how much he tinkers.

"They are on fire, they scored four goals, they just continue to play the
way they finished the end of last season. They are very good at pressing,
they react well when they win the ball.

"They have a good delivery from both sides and look dangerous from set
pieces. You don't have to be sloppy for them to punish you, but if you are
then you have absolutely no chance against them. We have to be prepared and
stop them."

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Match preview: Tomkins set to be the odd man out
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on August 13, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H

West Ham look all set to make just one change to the team that beat Arsenal
last Sunday, when Slaven Bilic's outfit face an in-form Leicester City at
the Boleyn on Saturday. Carl Jenkinson is all set to make his first
appearance of the season and James Tomkins – who was impressive at right
back last week – looks likely to be the player who'll start proceedings on
the bench. That means 16-year-old Reece Oxford will make his second Premier
League appearance, with the previously injured Pedro Obiang joining the
squad.

Likely team: Adrian; Jenkinson, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble, Kouyate,
Oxford; Payet, Zarate, Sakho.

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West Ham v Leicester City
KO 15:00
14 August 2015
Last updated at 12:49

Barclays Premier League
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 15 August

TEAM NEWS

West Ham defender Carl Jenkinson is available to face Leicester after being
ineligible to play against parent club Arsenal last weekend.
Pedro Obiang could make his league debut but Joey O'Brien, Andy Carroll and
Enner Valencia remain sidelined.
Leicester's Matty James is out with a knee injury but otherwise Claudio
Ranieri has a fully fit squad.vForward Jamie Vardy is expected to start
despite being fined by the club for making an alleged racial slur.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES

Jonathan Pearce: "Both clubs are looking to win their opening two games of a
Premier League season for the first time since 1997-98 but there was a major
difference in the manner of their victories last weekend. "West Ham were
happy to let Arsenal have the ball but always looked capable of keeping a
clean sheet. Leicester allowed Sunderland to boss possession but looked far
more susceptible at the back.
"The Hammers have won seven of their last eight home Premier League games
against Leicester, who haven't won in 20 top-flight visits to London. "So
I'll go for a home win in a thriller."
Twitter: @jpearcefootball

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic on Claudio Ranieri's reputation: "He's
a great manager, with a lot of experience and success. They can change 10%,
he can change the formations but he cannot change the DNA of the players, he
cannot change their qualities or weakness, no matter how much he tinkers."
"He brought a lot of energy to the team last week - if that's to do with
Kasabian then I will leave the training pitch, go to a music shop and buy
all their CDs."
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri: "Every match is different. The
manager must choose the best solution to help his players. I hope I choose
the best plan. More important than a killer instinct for my players is
concentration. I've shown them the mistakes and they'll get better. "West
Ham had a fantastic result and performance against Arsenal. They were
outstanding. It'll be an open game. West Ham can win and Leicester can win."

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

These two teams both got great results over the opening weekend but it is
Leicester I fancy to pick up another one on Saturday. The Foxes have a lot
of pace and energy in wide areas and, if they keep on playing this attacking
style they used against Sunderland, they will win a lot more games than they
lose. West Ham were brilliant when they beat Arsenal but I am going for a
shock result against them here.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
West Ham have won seven of their last eight Premier League home games
against Leicester City.
The Foxes lost all six of their Premier League games last season played in
London.
Both West Ham and Leicester are looking to win their opening two games of a
Premier League season for the first time since 1997-98.

West Ham United
West Ham are looking to win successive Premier League games for the first
time in 2015.
Reece Oxford, aged 16 years and 236 days, became the seventh youngest
Premier League debutant last weekend, and the second youngest player to
start in the division (after Jose Baxter for Everton).
Oxford completed 20 of his 21 attempted passes against Arsenal for a
match-high completion rate of 95%.
No Premier League player is currently on a longer run of starts for one side
than West Ham goalkeeper Adrian, who has played in 57 consecutive Premier
League games.

Leicester City
Leicester City have won 25 points since the start of April 2015, which is
four more than any other Premier League side.
The Foxes have won eight of their last 10 Premier League fixtures - one more
than they managed in their previous 55 top-flight games.
Jamie Vardy has scored five goals and provided four assists in his last 11
league appearances.
Claudio Ranieri has lost three of his last four Premier League games as a
manager against West Ham.

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West Ham v Leicester preview: Slaven Bilic's Upton Park return
Last Updated: 14/08/15 4:50pm
SSN

Eighteen years after leaving West Ham as a player, Slaven Bilic returns to
Upton Park for his first home league game in charge of the Hammers. After
his Premier League tenure got off to a flying start with an impressive – and
rare – away victory at Arsenal, Bilic's side now host Leicester, who made
their own eye-catching start to life under a new manager on the opening
weekend. Claudio Ranieri's side won 4-2 against Sunderland, with winger
Riyad Mahrez on the scoresheet twice, to extend a sensational run which has
seen Leicester win seven of their last 10 games in the Premier League going
back to last season. However, the Foxes' Premier League run in the capital
is rather more infamous - their winless run in London stretches to 20
matches. Striker Diafra Sakho is under consideration for West Ham despite
his arrest last week, according to Bilic. On-loan right-back Carl Jenkinson
returns to the squad after being ineligible to play against his parent club
Arsenal, with Pedro Obiang also fit to make his debut if called upon.
However, forwards Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia (both knee) remain
sidelined, as does defender Joey O'Brien (hamstring). Midfielder Morgan
Amalfitano is not in contention having been made to train with the youth
team following a disagreement with Bilic. For Leicester, Jamie Vardy will be
involved after being handed a 'substantial fine' for his alleged use of
racist language in a casino. Midfielder Matty James remains Leicester's only
absentee due to the knee problem he picked up at the end of last season.

Stats

West Ham have won seven of their previous eight home Premier League games
against Leicester.
Leicester lost all six of their Premier League games last season in London.
Leicester have gone 20 Premier League games without a victory in the capital
(D3 L17).
Both sides are looking to win their opening two games of a Premier League
season for the first time since 1997/98.
Leicester City have won 25 Premier League points since April 1st 2015; four
more than any other side.
Claudio Ranieri has lost three of his last four Premier League games as a
manager versus West Ham.

Merson's prediction

A top of the table clash! Both these sides had phenomenal results at the
weekend, but I worry for West Ham in this one. Did West Ham get it right the
other day or were Arsenal poor?

Leicester have bundles of pace... West Ham are going to have to bomb on at
home, and the visitors are going to pick them off. People have been
sceptical of Claudio Ranieri's arrival, but they have some very good
footballers at the club already. He is not attempting to build them from
nothing.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (10/1 with Sky Bet)

Betting

West Ham are Sky Bet's 5/4 favourites to Leicester's price of 21/10 as both
sides look to build on impressive opening-day wins. The Hammers were cut to
11/10 for a top-half finish following their Emirates triumph, while their
visitors are out to 100/30 in the relegation betting.

Diafra Sakho is the 11/2 favourite in the first goalscorer betting, while
Shinji Okazaki, Leonardo Ulloa and Jamie Vardy as tied at the head of the
market for the Foxes at 13/2 apiece, while Riyad Mahrez is 25/1 for another
brace.

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West Ham United v Leicester City
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 14th August 2015
By: Preview Percy

Last Sunday's season-opener ended an 8-year wait for a win over Arsenal. The
wait for Preview Percy to get a round in on the other hand goes on.......

Next up we have our first home game of the final season at the Boleyn where
we will play host to Leicester City. Kick-off is the traditional 3:00pm on
Saturday, something we will now be seeing more of than we might have
anticipated.

Transport-wise the only problems on the tube are on the end of the Victoria
line nearest to Tottenham so nobody is particularly bothered. Check before
you travel though in case there are any problems somewhere that matters.

It's been a summer of change on the banks of the River Soar. The rather odd
Nigel Pearson was always walking a bit of a tightrope after a second spell
at the club that included his receiving a fine for telling a supporter to
"f*** off and die". Other crimes and misdemeanours included a pitchside
altercation with Palace's James Macarthur that wasn't quite as light-hearted
as Pearson wanted to make out and an exchange with a journo in which Pearson
called the offending scribe an "ostrich". The already fragile relationship
between Pearson and the club's owners was finally stretched beyond breaking
point in the wake of the publicising of a video made by three of the club's
players whilst on a tour to Thailand. The trio – including the manager's son
- were sacked and the club's owners – who were rumoured to have already
sacked and reinstated the manager over the Mcarthurgate affair – issued
Pearson Sr. with his P45, citing "fundamental differences of perspective"
between them and Pearson and stating that the working relationship was "no
longer viable". They stopped short of saying that it had "ceased to be" and
that it was an "ex-working relationship" probably because Monty Python isn't
a major cultural reference point for the club's Thai owners.

After a spell when everyone thought that the job might go to one Allardyce,
S. the surprise announcement was that they had appointed Claudio Ranieri.
This did not go down too well with their celebrity support, who, in a break
during his day job of filming those dreadfully unfunny crisp commercials,
was heard to describe the appointment as "uninspiring". Well if anyone knows
the meaning of that word it should be him.

For all that, Ranieri got off to a decent start and his team arrives in
second place in the league (at the time of writing) courtesy of their 4-2
defeat of Sunderland last weekend. Long-term readers (sufferers, shurely? –
ed) of this column will be aware that we at the Avram Grant Olympic Rest
Home For The Bewildered don't have much truck with this idea of publishing
the league tables after one match. Things used to be better when they used
to publish it for the first time on the second Saturday, by which time
everyone had played three games. It was a bit like the start of a swimming
race when the lead becomes apparent after the start only when the swimmers
surface for the first time after diving in. Still that's the way things are
these days. I expect it's the fault of us supporters – we usually get the
blame.

Anyway it was an odd game at whatever their stadium is called at the moment.
The initial stages saw Schmeichel needing to be alert to make a triple save.
Then someone flicked a switch on the Sunderland team, altering their default
setting from adequate to bloody awful. This enabled the home side to race
into a 3-0 lead by half-time with goals from Vardy and Mahrez (2 – 1 pen).
Sunderland woke up a bit and Defoe pulled one back in the second half only
for Albrighton to restore the 3 goal advantage with an effort that was so
far offside it was embarrassing. Schmeichel then had a Cech moment to allow
Fletcher to make it 4-2 at the end.

Of the goalscorers last week Vardy is an interesting case. He was capped by
England last term, albeit it being one of those "summer caps" given to
players when more established pros find that the groin strains they've been
carrying need to be rested on a beach somewhere warm, with a medicinal
cocktail or two being part of the recuperation process. He's done rather
well for himself since arriving from Fleetwood a couple of years ago and is
one of their better-regarded players. He's currently in a spot of hot water
having been filmed in a casino apparently racially abusing a fellow
customer. The club announced the imposition of a hefty fine and a spot of
"diversity awareness training" whatever that means. Oddly these alternatives
weren't offered to the "Thailand Three", a fact that may or may not be
related to the size of fee that each of the parties might be expected to
fetch on the open market. As Groucho Marx once said – "these are my
principles. If you don't like them, well I have others".

Winger Riyad Mahrez looked a bit lively last weekend. This is the Algerian's
second full season with the Foxes having arrived in the January 2014
transfer window. The work experience kid with the Harry Potter spectacles
informs me that an undisclosed fee was paid to Le Havre for the winger's
services, adding that he started his pro career with a French club by the
name of Quimper. Which sounds like one of those definitions out of Viz's
Rogers Profanisaurus.

Although, as mentioned, Albrighton's goal involved a large assist from the
officials, on a human level it would be hard to begrudge him the moment. His
girlfriend's mum and her partner were amongst the tourists killed in the
recent Tunisian atrocity so it must have been a rough summer for the lad.
Something to bear in mind the next time you see the word "tragedy" used in a
football context by some lazy journo. And if you see me use it feel free to
chastise me very roughly.

In the window just gone the most high profile departure was that of Esteban
Cambiasso. He spent last season on a one year deal but left despite
reportedly being offered a new deal in the summer. He's gone to Olympiakos
where, given the state of the Greek economy, one hopes that he's managed to
get his salary paid up front. Also released was Matthew Upson who has gone
to Milton Keynes Dons who presumably think that they've signed Scott Parker.
Paul Konchesky has also gone, this time on loan to QPR where he's been
charged with helping repair the wreckage caused by the previous manager,
whoever that was.

Through the in-door has arrived Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki. Okazaki has
been capped over 90 times by the Japanese national side, scoring 43 goals in
the process. The work experience kid with the Harry Potter spectacles tells
me that this makes him the third highest goalscorer in Japanese
international football history, and top amongst those players still actually
playing. Okazaki came in for a reported fee of £7m from German outfit Mainz
for whom he scored 28 league goals over the course of his two seasons there.
He started last week on the bench against Sunderland.

Another new boy who started on the bench last week was midfielder N'Golo
Kante. Kante was a £5.7m capture from French outfit Caen, who he helped to
promotion to the top flight of French football in the 2013/14 season. He's
yet to be capped by either the country of his birth (France) or the country
of his forefathers (Mali), though qualification for a French passport means
that all that pesky work permit stuff was easily dispensed with.

They dipped into the Bundesliga again to bring in Christian Fuchs who came
in from our chums over at Schalke this summer. Fuchs had spent four years in
Gelsenkirchen before departing on a free this summer. The left-back has over
60 caps for Austria and managed 17 minutes of pitch time at the weekend
replacing Mahrez for the closing stages. Your correspondent would also like
some sort of acknowledgement that he has managed to write nearly 100 words
on this player without once resorting to any sort of wordplay involving his
surname.

And so to us. Who saw that one coming then? A win over there is always
sweet, obviously. To do it in decent style, which we did, made it even
sweeter. To put it simply the tactics worked like a dream. The last time I
saw a West Ham side win a match on tactics was probably the 3-0 at Spurs
when their back four couldn't cope with not having anyone to mark. In fact
if you go back to the stadium now you'll probably find Arsenal's midfield
still passing the ball across the pitch. A quick word about young Mr Oxford:
Superb. However, there were fine performances all over the pitch, of course.
So much so that the home support were even quieter than normal. I know it's
hard to be quieter than silent but if it is possible for sound meters to
register negative amounts then that's what they would have been doing on
Sunday. The aural equivalent of a black hole. I suppose it's too much to
hope that last week's Irritating Celebrity Supporter Of The Week will
disappear permanently, but England winning the Ashes without his mate
Pietersen and his team being outplayed by us will hopefully keep him quiet
for a while anyway.

It is understood that Pedro Obiang will be close to availability for this
match after his muscle problem, which would leave just near namesake
O'Brien, Carroll and Valencia in the treatment room. There may be an issue
with Amalfitano however, who blotted his copybook by missing a team meeting
and has allegedly been sent to train with the kids (though if there are any
more back there like Oxford that might be viewed as a promotion rather than
a punishment).

Another in hot water this week has been Sakho, with whom Tower Hamlets plod
had a word in his shell-like over a matter described as a "domestic issue".
Plod don't want to see him again until September so he will be ok for this
one.

One player who won't be about will be Joey Barton. There has been a load of
rubbish written about the collapse of this signing, with many sources citing
supporter unrest as the principal reason for the deal not being completed.
In fact, my spies suggest that the deal floundered on the thorny issue of
pay, specifically the method of payment. The club favoured a pay as you play
type of deal with Barton's salary being largely dependent on first XI
appearances. Barton, allegedly, wasn't happy with this proposed arrangement
and, with no assurances forthcoming that he would ever make a minimum number
of appearances the parties shook hands and went their separate ways. My own
view was that the player was wrong for the team from a football point of
view anyway whatever you think of him as a person (and for the record I am
most definitely NOT a fan of him personally).

Prediction? Well we have two teams that haven't had the joys of early season
victory knocked out of them by the passage of time so we could be in for a
cracker. As well as they played in spells last week though it should be
remembered that the win did come against Sunderland. There again it could be
said that ours was only against Arsenal I suppose. However, despite that, I
think we'll win so I shall be taking the £2.50 that came from the Avram
Grant Olympic Rest Home For The Bewildered's collection to chip in to buy
Chelsea a club doctor who doesn't hold with all that "Hippocratic Oath"
nonsense along to Winstones The Turf Accountant and placing the whole darn
lot on a 2-1 win for us.

Enjoy the game!

When last we met at the Boleyn: Won 2-0 (December 2014) Goals from Carroll
and Downing were enough to seal all three points before the post-Christmas
slump set in. One of the many of our matches refereed by Martin Atkinson
last season.

Referee: Anthony Taylor – To say he's prone to errors is a bit like saying
that Arsene Wenger is prone to myopia. Only in charge because someone forgot
to press the button marked "Martin Atkinson".

Danger Man: Riyad Mahrez Looked on the ball last week and can also turn
provider for Vardy.

Irritating Celebrity Supporter Of The Week: Gary Lineker. Celeb supporters
of Leicester City are a bit thin on the ground if truth be told. However,
their highest profile champion is, thankfully, genuinely irritating thus
ensuring the continuation of this new feature for another week at least. The
crisp salesman has a daft pseudo-satanic beard and, if rumour is to be
believed, is not without the odd skeleton in his cupboard either.

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