Theres only one Martin Peters!

It''s never going to be an easy game to win against a Sam Allardyce team, I wonder what the West Ham stalwarts think of the brand of football they are witnessing, when they have such a great history of playing the beautiful game as it should be. In the circumstances a point is not a disaster, but we cannot keep on being unlucky, we have to make our own luck. To do this we will need to be a bit braver, Hoolahan is a great player and should have come on today to try and win the game, granted he would not have won too many headers, then neither would Xavi or Iniesta, would they have not featured due to a lack of height? Mr Foy was not going to do us any favours, what annoyed me more than anything was in the second half from a corner every time Russell Martin tried to make some movement he was wrestled, and all right in front of poor old Foy who thought it was necessary to talk to both players rather than award us a penalty. I know that refs always totally duck these type of decisions, what a disgrace it is that this allows the teams who favour rough house tactics to prosper. We look a better defensive unit, but this comes at a the cost of less adventurous football and full backs who are not so likely to overlap. What is of concern is the lack of a cutting edge. Jackson is playing well with good movement and pace, Holty is being like Holty, he always starts slowly but comes good in the end, lets hope history repeats itself, although todays lack of workrate was a little disconcerting. Memo to Hughton you should be aware that dropping him last season worked wonders, no need to feel that as he is captain and player of the season he is sacrosanct. Harry Kane showed promise but not the good finishing we are told he has, please let him have his shooting boots on next time he plays.

I agree about Tierney & Pilks, the former is a good player who had a bad day like most of the rest of them. Pilks is also a good player but he is out of form at present, one or 2 appearances from the bench would help rebuild his confidence. Russ Martin I thought was the pick of our defenders at Fulham, I seem to remember him clearing 5 or 6 long balls they tried to play over the back of him to the winger in the first 20 minutes, that''s about as many as the rest of them managed all game. Turner is a proven Prem centre back and will do a good job for us, he and Bassong have the makings of a good partnership.

We were chasing the game and our players got tired because we kept giving the ball away with the biggest culprits being Tierney and Pilkington who had an absolute mare. Both of these need dropping for the next game.

Stand out stat from the list of 19 clubs is that only 2 other than us have not recruited players from a club outside the UK. No doubt largely due to the lack of a continental scouting network. This is the key area that needs developing, as we cannot keep on finding Prem players from the lower leagues.

I enjoyed watching Lukoki, tremendous potential to be a really top player, although I thought Tierney did well against him. Comparisons with our wingers are not comparing like with like. This was a Hughton practice on how we are going to play against the top 4/6 Prem Teams, midfield playing very deep, 2 solid banks of 4 and concentrating on keeping shape and filling all the gaps in between making it hard to play against us, as employed successfully by Roy Hodgson at Fulham & West Brom. Consequently, our front 2 were isolated for much of the game and it was not possible for our wingers to link up with Howson & Johnson. I thought E Benno showed glimpses of what a good player he has become and Pilks scored a great freekick. They will both shine in a more adventurous formation.

I think Snoddy would be a v good acquisition, he''s a winger and we''ve only got 2, Pilks and E Benno. Lets face it Leeds wanted to build their team around him and if Lambert wanted him that endorses the view that he must be good. I agree that Hoolahan has been great for us, for my money we''re certainly not looking to replace him at the mo. However, he is most effective playing at the tip of the diamond, and CH has gone on record as saying he prefers 442 or 4411, so the latter would be Hooly''s best opportunity, playing off the striker, but he''s not as effective playing that role as the tip of the diamond due to his lack of pace. As the diamond has been our most effective formation for the last 3 seasons, CH will surely still use this from time to time and Wes will continue to shine. Regarding the players rated most highly by opposition fans, there is an interesting thread on the West Ham fans message board asking them to nominate the opposition''s best player, and most in our case go for Holt, Ruddy & Pilkington with one or 2 saying Hoolahan. I think Howson will be a great player for us, he has shown all the right attributes, but like everyone Neymar, Rooney etc, they all miss sitters from time to time.

Great Video, that left foot reminds me a little of the late great Graham Paddon.

Good on you Russell Martin, very sensible comments, could you have a word in Holty''s ear while you''re at it.

I''m sure Bowkett and the club''s lawyers will be sanity checking anything that has been done. Chairmen are meant to be the wise genial old head for Chief Execs.

Villa have not paid up! They have signed our Manager when still technically bound to us as compensation has not been agreed, as surely there is a notice period to serve when he cannot work for any competitors (if the contract is worth the paper it''s written on). I''d imagine they are going to argue breach of contract by us for not letting him speak to Villa as claimed to be allowed by the contract. The difference between this scenario and the ColU one is that we HAD been given permission to speak to him. I wonder how many points deduction and big a fine Villa will get for that ( if we are found not to be have breach of the contract).

There are only a few players that fit the requirements of clubs with our budget and strategy (as set out by our Board), and that is why we ended up snatching Ryan Bennett from Swansea at the eleventh hour. Of course clubs with similar budgets have many of the same players as targets, and guess what, that means the lists have many similarities whatever style of football is played or who the Manager is. A good player is a good player. Whoever our new Manager will be, and I hope it''s Chris Hughton, they will be competing directly with Lambert for the same players, cos Villa have''nt got any more money than we have.

Slow Lerner by name and slow learner by nature!

Has McNally got Lambert''s list of targets, did Lambo give him the B list telling him it was the A list playing a game of double bluff so that Villa could pick up the prize targets like Snoddy while we swoop for the likes of Ince? Is the chief scout going to Villa and have we got his list. Are we going head to head with Villa for the same targets or are they going shopping in Harrods while we go to M&S? Has the new Manager got a list? It''s what keeps you awake at night, like when it''s snowing and you worry about whether the snowplough driver can get to work!

I agree it was a good commentary, I especially liked it when McManaman said ''Holt England''s number 9''.

For me this was the most disappointing game since 1-7 to Colchester. Biggest problem we have now is lack of confidence some players have after loadsofmoney proved that world class players cost a lot of money and on their day and when they are up for it (as they have been twice this season home and away) can tear you to shreds if you are too attacking and open, as we were that day. But it was a thrilling game and we came out of it with some deserved praise. Lambert as always learns from past disappointments, however, the more cautious approach in the first half backfired because of defensive errors and the inability of the team to make the formation work. Tha main reason for this is that 2 of our 4 best centre backs are out injured (Whitbred & Ayala) and our best centre back this season, Russell Martin is playing at R Back because we do not have enough full backs. So what to do, play Cafu at C Back with Ryan Bennett and Francombe at R Back (if fit), we must start with Holt and Vaughan at home to Villa & with Hoolahan for Vaughan at Arsenal. Simples (if only)! PS Tin hat time, am I the only one who thought the Barclay gave the lovely people from Liverpool an easy afternoon, I seem to remember some lovely songs about cats in dustbins making nourishing meals.

It''s always unpleasant to lose, but rest assured had we needed to win that game to stay to stay in the PL we would have done. Lambert continually plays the humble/low expectations card and quite rightly so while keeping his real goals/ambition to himself. Don''t be surprised if we finish in 6th place.....................

He''s obviously even thicker than he looks!

Also surprising that someone who is 63 has not got a grey hair on his head!

Ruddy was immense and gets my vote after that I would say Hoolahan, made the first goal, played a big part in the move for the second goal, and when we were on top in the the first part of the 2nd half before they made substitutions he ran the midfield.

Lets see if they are all deaf in the Kop including the stewards, you can be sure that if any insults had been given back, they would have been clearly heard by everyone.

The good news is we are not a million miles away from getting wins. Like others have said I think Wes needs to be fitted in and I have high hopes for Vaughan giving us that little bit extra up front as well as being the perfect foil for Holt, one thing we have seen is he is as tough as old boots. I seem to remember Everton fans saying he had strength and pace and that had he not had so many injuries he would have been a regular for them.

A good read. I think fans generally and clubs need to be protesting about FIFA not allowing video evidence to solve/greatly reduce the many diabolical refereeing decisions seen nowadays due to the speed of the game. 21st century solutions are needed, wake up Herr Blatter & Monsiour Platini!

A good eloquent report as ever Ricardo. I believe we have a strong enough squad and plenty of firepower now in midfield and up front to see us finish in 2nd place. Only concern is Wes'' injury as in most games he is the Team''s heartbeat, although there is more than enough quality in the squad for us to keep ahead of the chasing pack.

Korey is a much better tackler than Lansbury and that side of the midfield game is just as important as the attacking side. I think Lambert is wisely giving him a little rest at present and would expect to see him starting to make some appearances soon from the bench.

This would be an excellent piece of business, Elliott Bennett looks like a very bright prospect, quick and tricky with goals in him, not sure if the fee is big enough to tempt Brighton though with 18 months left on his contract, perhaps they could have first refusal on McNamee for a pre agreed fee. Henri has quality and would help the push for the Prem.