Adrian: “We could have got more”
Our Spanish goalkeeper Adrian San-Miguel has felt the disappointment of the players and fans after our frustrating 0-0 draw with the Toffees on Saturday. The 30-year-old shot-stopper made his first team return in the draw after six months of being kept out of the side by Darren Randolph, Adrian had this to say in a post-match interview: “We played very well, it was a tactical game, but at the end of the day it’s a draw and another point”. Adrian was clearly in buoyant mood with his first start since November later adding, “I’m delighted to be back, it was a very long time”. The former Real Betis man received his first call-up to the Spanish national side back in August and will clearly be wanting to force his way back into Julen Lopetegui’s plans with more clean sheets over the close of the season.
Bilic: “We had eleven Lions”
Our Croatian manager Slaven Bilic has hailed his players after our dominant performance in the 0-0 draw with Everton three days ago. We were without nine of our first team squad, in a game that saw us field one of our weakest teams and squads of the season. Bilic was clearly pleased with our display against his former side, having this to say in his post-match press conference: “We were expecting a difficult game and all that comes with that. I am really pleased with the performance; we played like eleven Lions there, running for each other”. However, it no lie that despite how well we played at the weekend, many Hammers fans were still left incensed by the chances we missed against Ronald Koeman’s men and Bilic recognised this adding: “If we have to talk about one negative, it was the lack of quality and decision in the final third, and that we didn’t score a goal”. The under pressure boss was clearly happy with the overall way Saturday’s game went, but one thing is for sure, we are going to need to be much more clinical in front of goal if we are going to clinch the vital points we need to ensure safety in the upcoming games.
U15’s edged out in Prague
Our bright young U15’s side were narrowly beaten by Malaga in the final of the Slavia International Cup in the Czech Republic on Sunday. Danny Searle’s side were unbeaten up until the final, winning both of their group games and overcoming local side Sparta Prague 2-1 in the semi-finals. The final itself was a nervy affair, with not even 90 minutes enough to separate the two sides, with the Spanish side winning 3-2 on penalties to leave the young Hammers returning home disappointed. There was a small constellation for the youngsters as our attacking midfielder Amadou Diallo won player of the tournament. Make no mistake; despite leaving the Eden arena empty-handed, considering we were the youngest side at the tournament, we certainly do look to be bringing an exciting new generation of Claret and Blue starlets through the ranks.
Transfer gossip: Hammers eye Cairns and native clubs queue up for Hammers shot stopper
It has been rumoured this week in The Daily Mail that we are readying a summer approach for Fleetwood Town goalkeeper Alex Cairns. The 24-year-old is said to be one of the rising stars of League one and it is not hard to see why, the former Leeds man has kept 15 clean sheets out of 30 games in England third tier this season. Slaven Bilic has had a goalkeeping dilemma for most of the season and Saturday saw another change as Adrian returned back into the first team for Darren Randolph, so could the youngster be the answer to our problems between the sticks, next season? It has been reported this week in The Mirror that a number of La Liga clubs are preparing summer bids for our Andalusia born keeper Adrian San Miguel. The former Real Betis man enjoyed a single season in goal for the club, in the Spanish top division four years ago, but now Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol are hoping to lure the 30-year-old back to his native land. So could the cult hero be heading back to Spain in the summer, just a few months after forcing his way back into Slaven Bilic’s first team plans?
OTD-2015
On this day in 2015, just over 18,000 people watched us draw 0-0 with QPR at Loftus road. Much like our game against Everton last Saturday, the game was starved of goalmouth action. Despite its lack of entertainment, the game did have its one decisive moment when James Collins handled the ball in the box and Mike Jones pointed to the spot, only for Charlie Austin to see his penalty saved by the legs of Adrian. That draw would help us to a twelfth placed Premier League finish, despite being fourth at Christmas, whereas our North London opponents that day, couldn’t avoid the drop under Chris Ramsey.