Football Days

Upton Park - West Ham United FC

West Ham United 1-0 Aston Villa

18/08/12 - Premier League

Att: 34,172

After attending two dull friendlies and 45 minutes of a relatively entertaining one, it was finally time for the proper football to begin. It was a nice local trip to begin with as Paul Lambert's reign got underway at Upton Park, which was also the scene of my first trip of last season as I witnessed Aldershot Town dump West Ham out of the League Cup. West Ham have irked me from an early age as growing up in the south I was always accused of being a West Ham supporter whenever I wore an Aston Villa shirt to football training or into town. I did get some sort of retribution in the late 90's when my West Ham supporting friend's Nan bought him a football shirt for his birthday. She got the colours mixed up and bought him a Villa one by mistake. It was duly passed on to me so I got a free shirt and as a result I feel we're probably even.

With it being in London it was a late start, not needing to catch the train to Waterloo until midday. After some conversation with one of the many West Ham fans on the London-bound train I arrived and hopped on the tube to Mile End where I met up with a Villa fan to exchange tickets and sink a few cold ones while mulling over the summer's events. After a couple of pints of Red Stripe it was only a few stops on the underground to Upton Park, with the ground within walking distance.

After suffering relegation in 2011, West Ham bounced back at the first attempt via play off victories over Cardiff City and Blackpool at Wembley. They were hot favourites to go up at the start of the season, but a poor home record was their achilles heel as Southampton and Reading pipped The Hammers to the automatic promotion places. There's no doubt that West Ham United is a famous name in football, having been part of some truly iconic moments in the English game stretching from the "White Horse Final" of 1923, to their integral part in England's World Cup winning team of 1966. They were also one of the first English teams to win a European trophy with their European Cup Winners' Cup success in 1965 and the last team from outside the top flight to win the FA Cup when they defeated Arsenal in 1980. They're also notorious off the pitch, with their well renowned ICF known throughout the continent and they've been part of many football holigan related books and films over the years. However, while, like any club, they still have an element, I didn't see a single bit of trouble at the game.

Upton Park (or the Boleyn Ground, if you prefer) has been home to The Hammers since 1904. It's undergone a series of redevelopments over the past twenty years, with the Bobby Moore Stand being constructed to replace the South Bank at one end of the ground in 1993 and the North Bank (now known as the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand) being re-built two years later. Re-building continued in 2001, as the West Stand was knocked down and replaced by a large two tiered stand with a capacity of 15,000. On the other side is the East Stand - The oldest part of the ground, retaining some character but it's also very dated and lets the ground down a bit. Having said that, it's still a superb venue, with a capacity of 35,016 it's also a good size for West Ham, which makes it seem pretty bizarre that the club are so intent on moving into the Olympic Stadium.

Without much opportunity to have a look around the ground we were straight into the away end on a scorching hot day in London's East End. There was an air of optimism and excitement among the travelling fans, following the arrival of Paul Lambert as manager. Last season had been a total disaster and it goes without saying that everyone is expecting this season to be an improvement. West Ham also had cause for optimism following promotion last season. They appear to have made some solid signings in the transfer market and while Sam Allardyce isn't everyone's cup of tea, his sides are always well organised and he knows how to get points in this league, even if it's not pretty.

As the teams came on to the pitch there was a good atmosphere in the ground, as West Ham's "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" anthem rang around the stadium, despite the best efforts of the 3,000 travelling fans to drown it out. As the game kicked off it was Villa who settled into a good passing rhythm early on and dominated the early exchanges. A lot was made of the style of football under Alex McLeish last season and Paul Lambert promised change, which was evident during pre-season and it delighted the Villa fans to see it come to life in a league match, with a chant of "We're Aston Villa, we're passing the ball!" ringing out from the away end. For all the passing and all the possession, Villa struggled to create much and as West Ham's physical presence began to take effect, they came back into the game. Before the match I feared that may be the difference between the two sides, with most of West Ham's players being over 6ft tall and, Vlaar aside, Villa's team is pretty lightweight.

It was a game of few chances, with the home side threatening from set pieces and they took the lead in controversial circumstances five minutes before half time. As the ball was played down the line the linesman's flag was raised for offside, but as the ball was cut back and turned in by Nolan the referee over-ruled the decision. There was confusion as the home fans weren't sure if it was a goal, meaning there were muted celebrations. There was outrage among the away fans, but having seen the replays it seems the referee got the decision correct, so there can be no real complaints. West Ham's delighted fans celebrated the goal with chants of "how shit must you be? we're winning at home"...

Having taken the lead late on in the first half it was the home side who started the brightest and could have had a penalty when Ron Vlaar and Carlton Cole came together in the box. It would have been soft, but you've certainly seen them given, so I think Villa got away with one there. Despite continuing to pass the ball well the visitors still didn't look like scoring, with N'Zogbia frustrating on the wing and little penetration from the midfield. Darren Bent was isolated as constant attempts to knock the ball over the top to him were headed away by Tomkins and Collins at the heart of The Hammers' defence. Ron Vlaar had a long range effort saved by Jaaskelainen, but that was the closest Villa came to an equaliser. With Villa piling men forward in stoppage time in search of an equaliser West Ham had a superb chance to make the game safe on the counter attack, but Nathan Baker recovered well to block new signing Modibo Maiga's effort after he rounded Shay Given.

There was delight for the home fans as the full time whistle went, but it was disappointing from a Villa point of view, especially after all the optimism of pre-season. It was a tame performance, with very little attacking threat throughout the match. While nobody will be panicking yet, it was a far cry from the vibrant, attacking football that had been promised since McLeish's departure.

After getting away from the ground with relative ease it was a straight forward trip back to Farnborough and my train pulled in around 6:30. After stopping for a few pints on the walk home I got back in decent time having had a good day out, despite the performance and the result. Upton Park is a superb ground and West Ham United are a proper football club. It would be a crying shame to see them move to the Olympic Stadium and if anyone hasn't been to Upton Park I'd urge them to do so while they still have the chance.