Blowing Bubbles March

When the then Newcastle and England midfielder Kieron Dyer joined West Ham in 2007, it was supposed to be the start of great things for the player and the club, but a career-threatening injury in just his second appearance meant his life took a very different turn.

In many ways, his unfulfilled potential is symbolic of what has happened to the club over the last decade – hopes raised but never lived up to.

And in an exclusive interview with Blowing Bubbles, the 39-year-old revealed that it he were to be offered the chance to join the Irons now, he would probably turn it down.

“When Curbs [manager Alan Curbishley] came to see me and sold the club to me, it really felt like the club was going to push on and find themselves battling at the top of the league and would go on to win things,” he said.

“But in the second game I broke my leg and was out for the season – Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker missed lots of that season and Curbs’ plan went up in flames.

“I don’t think if I were 28 again and West Ham came in for me now that I would join. I’m not sure you have the same calibre of player that I was seeing when I joined. Don’t get me wrong, David Moyes has steadied the ship and they are heading in the right direction, but West Ham are not going to catch up with the top six any time soon.”

Dyer goes on to discuss his exasperating time at West Ham – and his thanks to the fans who gave him so much support.

To read more about this, the views of former club legends George Parris and Phil Parkes, the latest on the strained relations between fans and the club’s owners, transfer comings and goings and what the future holds for James Collins and Michail Antonio, pick up a copy of the new edition of Blowing Bubbles – out now.

http://www.blowing-bubbles.co.uk/read-our-latest-issue.html

Julius Caesar was famously warned ‘Beware the Ides of March’ before coming to a grisly end – and with the finishing line of the current season starting to come into view, West Ham face a make or break month if they want to ensure a secure end to the campaign.

Fixture disruption means just one more game will be played in March, and in the aftermath of the capitulation at fellow strugglers Swansea, former Irons defender George Parris has warned that this is a time when they need to take control of their own destiny.

Writing for Blowing Bubbles magazine, Parris said although the Irons had endured some bad luck recently, they needed to make sure things did not get any worse.

“The defeat at Liverpool wasn’t unexpected, they are a class side, and while I have only seen highlights, it looked like it could have been a lot worse – but the loss at Swansea was unacceptable.”

Parris goes on to give his verdict on the club’s January transfer window activity, whilst former team-mate Phil Parkes, also writing for Blowing Bubbles, weighs in with his opinions about the on-going stand-off between fans the club’s owners – and he does not hold back.

To read these and more on things claret and blue, such as what next for James Collins, how Michail Antonio can recover his lost form, the future of the Bobby Moore statue – and a shockingly frank interview with Kieron Dyer about his injury-plagued time at West Ham, pick up a copy of the new Blowing Bubbles, out now. http://www.blowing-bubbles.co.uk/read-our-latest-issue.html

The London Stadium has been home to West Ham for nearly two seasons now, and with the finish line of this campaign coming into view, our final home game this month looks like the fixture list has done the Irons a favour in terms of taking charge of their own fate.

But writing in his column in Blowing Bubbles magazine, former Irons legend Phil Parkes says he is worried that the London Stadium still does not feel like home, and the fear factor provided by Upton Park which could have helped tipped the balance West Ham’s way is sadly lacking.

“I know I say this all the time but the new stadium just doesn’t have the hostile atmosphere that Upton Park did,” he said. “Opposition players and fans relish coming to the London Stadium but how many would have looked forward to coming to Upton Park? March is going to be a very important month for us….. the atmosphere at your home stadium can really help.”

Elsewhere in his column, Parkes gives an insight into how off the field problems can affect players, and does not hold back in his views on club owners David Gold and David Sullivan.

In addition to Parkes, former team-mate George Parris gives Blowing Bubbles his opinion on current events at the club, and the magazine’s team of top writing talent cover all the latest claret and blue news, from the arrival of Patrice Evra to the future of the Bobby Moore statue, and from how the board can get fans back on side to what the future holds for James Collins.

For all this and more, pick up a copy of the new Blowing Bubbles – out now http://www.blowing-bubbles.co.uk/read-our-latest-issue.html

A precise definition of the mythical ‘West Ham Way’ is something that has baffled scientists and football fans since long before James Collins could even grow facial hair.

But one phrase that definitely fits it quite well is ‘never doing things the easy way.’ And if West Ham are to survive in the Premier League this season – by no means a given – then they will certainly not have done it the easy way, and much of that will be self-inflicted.

In the Pub Talk section of the new edition of Blowing Bubbles, the magazine’s writers put their heads together to try and work out where it has all gone so – well, meh – this season, and Emily Pulham points her finger directly at the January transfer window as a prime example of how to make a bad situation worse.

“We keep selling players and ending transfer windows with less players than we started with,” she said.

“We sold our joint top scorer to a relegation rival. We sold a centre back outside the transfer window and didn’t bother to replace him. We don’t even have a full team sheet, and it’s not helped by David Moyes making poor team selections from what’s left. We’re not future proofing the team, we are frogmarching towards relegation.”

David Meagher says the fact that the transfer window is being looked at to fix problems tells its own story.

“When you are relying on January to solve problems then you are in real trouble as unless you splash big money, most of the time you are taking another club’s problems. Our performance in the transfer window over the last two seasons has been terrible, and the proposed change in our transfer team is much needed.”

To read more from the pub talk crew, including their views on Andre Ayew and Jordan Hugill, pick up a copy of the new edition of Blowing Bubbles out now. There you will find exclusive columns from former Irons legends Phil Parkes and George Parris, the latest news from the increasingly tetchy stand-off between fans and the club’s owners, find out what the future holds in store for the Bobby Moore statue, and in a startlingly honest interview, Kieron Dyer explains why he will probably go down in history as West Ham’s worst ever signing.

All this and more can be found in the latest edition of Blowing Bubbles – out now http://www.blowing-bubbles.co.uk/read-our-latest-issue.html

One observation many fans have made of West Ham in recent times is the lack of leaders on the field. Mark Noble wears both the armband and his heart on his sleeve and certainly does plenty of shouting and geeing up, but beyond that, the team seems somewhat lacking in leadership.

So to bring in someone who has played at the World Cup, Euros, captined his country and two of the biggest teams in Europe, won the league in two countries and played in five Champions League finals should remedy that problem. And in Patrice Evra, that is what West Ham have got.

But the former Manchester United, Juventus, Marseille and France star is 36 now, so aside from that, what is he bringing to the team?

In the latest edition of Blowing Bubbles, Greg Richardson runs the rule over the Irons’ latest new arrival.

“It is safe to say he is probably one of the most decorated players to pull on the West Ham shirt in recent memory. And that experience and winning mentality brings with it other desirable qualities. Behind the smile and joker image on social media is a man who hates to lose. He is a consummate professional.

“His positive outlook, experience and his acute professionalism likewise make him a good role model for our other French left back. Arthur Masuaku, before his ban, was one of the bright sparks of another thus far dull season.

“Under the tutelage of Evra, he could learn to add defensive solidity to his evident attacking qualities and blossom into a player truly worthy of his King Arthur nickname.

“But then, we have had older players before, whose expertise was meant to help bring on younger players.

“Alvaro Arbeloa, and to a lesser degree Pablo Zabaleta, were signed with half an eye on mentoring and improving Sam Byram.

“There is little evidence either had any success in doing so. An additional downside to signing a player of such vast experience is the age that comes with the wisdom.

“Evra is 36 years old, and similarly to his fellow full back Pablo Zabaleta – whilst the qualities remain, the pace that is so desperately needed in the modern game is gone.

“Evra has the further issue of having not played any football for over three months following his ban for an altercation with a fan.”

To find out more about Evra and what he offers West Ham, pick up a copy of the new edition of Blowing Bubbles, out now. In it, you will find exclusive columns from former Irons greats Phil Parkes and George Parris, giving their views on what is passed in the transfer window, what is present, and what lies ahead on the end of season run-in.

There is a look at what the club can do to restore its reputation after the Tony Henry scandal and amid increasingly ill-tempered relations between fans and the board, the Pub Talk team pick over the comings and goings of the transfer window, and in a startlingly honest interview, Kieron Dyer talks about his unfulfilled ambitions after his injury-ravaged four year stint at West Ham – and passes his own verdict on how history will judge him. All this and so much more in the latest edition of Blowing Bubbles, out now. http://www.blowing-bubbles.co.uk/read-our-latest-issue.html