Dublin Hammers - Club Meetings 2002 - 2003
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th May, 2003.
DUBLIN HAMMERS AGM 2003.
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT: Kenny started by disbanding the outgoing comittee. He then went on to say that the club continues to go from strength to strength with club membership currently standing at 45. The activities run by the club this season have been a great success, in particular the two trips over to Upton Park (which some members remarked were possibly the best trips ever run by the club). And also the Social Night, which turned out to be a great craic! Then it was time for some thank you's... to all the comittee members, especially Charlie for organising the two trips in the absence of a Travel Secretary for the season! Well Done!
SECRETARY'S STATEMENT: Liam was brief, his main points... disappointment at the turn out of members for some dh meetings, it will be a true test of loyalty next season as we approach life in the Nationwide, and last but by no means least a special thank you to Charlie for taking over as Travel Secretary, for not only doing the job, but doing it well!
TREASURER'S STATEMENT: Charlie's accounts were impeccable as usual!
The meeting was then opened to the floor with a variety of positive topics being discussed in an orderly manner. The most disappointing topic being the 'wasted free trip', what a sickener!
THE NEW COMMITTEE: A vote was then taken, the Comittee for Season 2003/2004 will be...
Chairman: K. Moran.
Secretery: L. McDonagh.
Treasurer: C. O'Rielly.
Travel Secretary: B. O'Flaherty.
Other Comittee Members: A. Fortune, E. Cox, D. Doyle, D. Kearney, J. O'Leary and J. Conway. Good Luck Gents.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2002/2003: Before the vote was taken, it was announced that if the player who wins is no longer a West Ham player at the start of next season, they will not be receiving a trophy from us! And the winner is... Joe Cole. 2nd place was a tie between David James and newcomer Glen Johnson.
And so that ends the round up of the DH AGM 2003.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 11th May, 2003.
BIRMINGHAM CITY 2 vs WEST HAM 2.
Brannigans was packed by 2.30pm, a big turn-out, hardly surprising as 'the crunch' had finally come. We needed to win and hope Bolton slipped up to ensure our survival in the top flight. Talking to people before the kick-off, the genaral feeling was that we would win, but then so would Bolton
The game kicked off, but within 8 minutes we were being shown Bolton's first goal, then shortly after we were shown Bolton's second goal... then Sky tried to cheer us all up by showing Boro having a shot at goal? Thanks. Half time came and we tucked into the sandwiches, chips & sausages, nuggets and chicken goujons (I say) with gusto as a good few beers had been consumed by that stage!
Second half was more like it, we came out and went for them, and after a few close shaves, Ferdinand put us one up! Sky then showed Boro getting one back... the noise level rose... maybe, just maybe... then Kanoute hit the post with a stunning volley... then Birmingham ran up the other end and scored... twice... Paolo got our equaliser in injury time.
And so we were relegated!
No surprise really, the only ones to blame are themselves, if they had played all season with the conviction shown during the past 11 weeks we would never have been in the relegation dog-fight in the first place.
Welcome to those lads who came along for the first time, hope to see you next season, and many thanks to the Committee and Brannigans for the half-time food! Come on you Irons...
See photographs from this meeting.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 27th April, 2003.
MANCHESTER CITY 0 vs WEST HAM 1.
A good turn out saw another win for West Ham for the second consecutive meeting! It's about time after some of the so called entertainment dished up by our lot for TV this season!
We needed to win this one to stay in the relegation dog-fight. I may be somewhat biased but I thought we had the better chances during the first half, but at the break it was all level.
Then out came the Sandwiches... wot no nuggets and chips?... hold yer horses mate... when they came, they just kept on coming. Thanks to the Commitee and Brannighans!
The second half was abit more entertaining, they went close a couple of times, but we had a goal bound header cleared off the line! In the end our goal was a scrappy affair, the hard work done by Hutchinson for Freddie 'you'll never see me sweat' Kanoute to poke over the line from approx 2 inches out! Cue Mayhem!!! I must say I went all emotional as the camera panned to Trev in the dug-out with a cheshire cat smile on his face... Come on you irons! Thankfully we clung on for the last 15 minutes (including 6 minutes extra time) to keep the pressure on Bolton. The meeting was nicely rounded off with a rousing version of Bubbles... and with images of a smiling Trev, it was heart warming stuff. A Good Meeting!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 14th April, 2003.
QUIZ NIGHT. Report by Brian O'Flaherty
A very good nite. New quiz master, BRIANO. (Anto Fortunes job is safe). Charlie O’Reilly and Dermot Kearney the winners, the Simpsons... Pat McNamara and Gary Purdy.
The answers to some of the questions were strange to say the least.... Here's a few gems;
Q. What is the capital of Canada? A. Canberra.
Q. What religion did Adolf Hitler profess? A. Greek Orthodox.
Q. What was the name of the first american space shuttle? A. Sputnik
Q. Name the three largest economies in the world. A. Oil, Agriculture and Tourism.
Q. What is the largest country in Africa? A. South Africa.
Q. Who said "let them eat cake"? A. Joan of Arc.
Q. Who was the first black player to play for England? A. John Charles.
What a laugh!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 24th March, 2003.
QUIZ NIGHT
Missed this meeting due to illness, however this is what our chairman Kenny had to say... "Good turn out last night with 21 turning up. Charlie gave out the tickets for the match and flights for the Chelsea trip. The quiz was won by B O'Flathery, D Kearney and Liam Mac and the important part... the Simpsons were Gerry Nolan, Derek Nolan and Josh Holland (notice the way you get the full names for the simpsons and not the winners!)".
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 23rd February, 2003.
WEST BROMICH ALBION 1 vs WEST HAM UTD 2.
Well well, the first time we have witnessed a win at a DH Meeting this season? Took it's time coming didn't it! A good turn out of members as well as new faces assembled for a match billed as a 'relegation 6 pointer!'
It was a classic scrap, with both sides well 'up for it', and after surviving some early pressure West Ham started to make a few chances. A mention for Trevor Sinclair who has had plenty of stick from club members this season, today he showed what a good player he can be, and after missing 'a sitter', he made amends by beating his marker to bury a shot into the goal from an acute angle, and just before half-time too!
Half-time produced the Sandwiches and chips & nuggets that now seem to be the norm'. Top Stuff. Thanks to the Committee, and Brannighans of course! And so onto the second half... and within minutes James was picking the ball out of our net, oh no, here we go again... by now the game was more like a cup-tie and we were seriously under the kosh... cue three absolutely world class saves from James (who won sky's man of the match award), those saves kept us in the game and with 20 minutes to go Sinclair headed home the winner from a rebound after Ferdinand had hit the bar from Defoes cross... cue mayhem! Several classic West Ham goal-mouth scrambles followed but we kept them out and the three points were ours.
We still have a long way to go and Liverpool's failure to beat Birmingham did not help our cause, but today at least we all went home happy!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 2nd February, 2003.
WEST HAM UTD 0 vs LIVERPOOL 3.
A packed house with everyone in an up-beat mood after the midweek win over Blackburn! Would this be the turning point in a dreadful season?... Well... No, it was more a case of normal service resumed as we let in two goals within the first 10 minutes. Then proceeded to muster just one shot on-target for the rest of the game. I have to confess I've run out of things to say about our performances this season... However the emergence of young Glen Johnson at full-back is heartening, he looks a real gem and was cool and collected... unlike some of the other so called professionals we have playing for us.
Anyway enough about those lightweight toe-rags, after the ref had put us out of our misery it was time for this seasons FREE TRIP DRAW! The names were put into the bag and out came Grahame Napier and Ashley Cahill! Those two lucky (or unlucky some would say) lads, win their flight, accommodation and match ticket to West Ham's final home game of the season against Chelsea. Congratulations lads!
Many thanks to John O'Leary for his hard work in organising the Free Trip Draw and to the Commitee for again making sure we were well fed at half-time.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 26th January, 2003.
MANCHESTER UTD 6 vs WEST HAM UTD 0.
Not as many as last week but the early kick-off and the match being on BBC meant only the hard-core showed.
Well what a load of rubbish... Gutless, Passionless, Clueless and Feckless are all words that describe our performance. The entire defence needs to be replaced (not to mention the manager) and Gary Breen's performance was laughable... "he could have gone to any club in italy after the world cup" was one sarcastic quip from the floor. I wonder if they still want him? Still I bet the Rodent likes him, he went down with his last club too! Oh and guess what... we were denied a clear penalty by the ref, OK we were already 6-0 down at that stage, but that's not the point.
Many thanks to the Committee and Brannighans for the half-time grub... chicken nuggets as well this week... cue the Ferreo Rocher advert voice-over "ohhh the committee, you spoil us".
See you all next week for the FREE TRIP DRAW and another upton park nightmare!
West Ham's live tv standings; P-10. W-1 (on pens). D-1. L-8. F-8. A-26... impressive eh? ROEDER OUT!
Two club members went to this game, see what they had to say... Gerry and Brian in the ManUre!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th January, 2003.
ARSENAL 3 vs WEST HAM 1.
After the poor attendence of the last two meetings it was good to get back to a packed house again!
What is it about Arse away? Last year the game was spoilt for us by a bad refereeing decision, it was the same story today! With the game just 15 minutes old, the 'bald coot' of a ref awarded Arse a penalty as that 'french dandy' Pires flung himself to the ground after the slightest of touches by Lomas, he followed that piece of stunning incompetence by sending Lomas off? Up until then we had been competing well and were very much in the game, after that it was one way traffic, and had David James not been in such fine form we could well have been two or three down. But then brazilian Edu ("has he got a 15 year old wife as well? Great country Brazil!" was a cry from the floor) underhit a backpass and in an instant Defoe was onto it and it was in the back of the net... cue mayhem! So against the odds we were level at half-time.
It was then the lovely Veronica appeared bearing baskets of Sausages and chips and trays of sandwiches, and a hush came over the room as we stuffed our faces! Many thanks to the Committee and Brannighans from everybody present! Top Stuff.
And so the second half got underway and as the minutes ticked by we were coming under more and more pressure, again James was outstanding, and just as the first thoughts of getting something from this game began to bud... up popped the 'bald coot' with another crap decision! Dennis (I'm scared of spiders as well as aeroplanes you know) Bergkamp clearly fouled Bowyer before crossing for Henry to score. No foul said the ref... wot a tart! At this point the meeting was in uproar and "Ref, we'll see you in the nationwide next season" was about the only shout that did'nt contain bad language! Apologies to our younger members.
Now in front, Arse cruised to the final whistle with Henry completing his hat-trick as we pushed forward in the hope of an equaliser. One plus point was the attitude and spirit of the West Ham players, especially James who was superb... So all that good work for nothing then... Bloody Ref. A good lively meeting.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 6th January, 2003.
QUIZ NIGHT
I missed this meeting due to a rather unfortunate crash on my daughters scooter?, however word on the street is that this evenings Quiz winners were Charlie O'R, John O'L and Gerry M. But who were The Simpsons I hear you cry... well that distinction goes to... Gerry O'K and Brian O'F. Hard Luck Lads.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 14th December, 2002.
MANCHESTER UTD 3 vs WEST HAM 0.
I don't think anyone watching this seriously expected a Hammers win, saying that I certainly thought we had no chance the last two times we played up there in the 'theatre of prawns', and we won those? However this time it was'nt to be.
Our current run off bad luck continues as we had a good penalty claim turned down, and a perfectly good goal disallowed for off side... if those had gone with us, we may have made more of a game of it, but in reality we were extremely poor.
A disappointing turn out by club members was bolstered by a group lads from london over for the weekend, they helped to raise the noise levels nicely... but all to no avail. It's beginning to look very grim for us now... wot's claret and blue and slides down tables? Anyway Christmas is coming so get those letters off to santa... a striker and two class defenders please. Have a great holiday and... HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 2nd December, 2002.
WEST HAM 0 vs SOUTHAMPTON 1.
I could'nt make this meeting due to work commitments so a report is non-existent! I can imagine that the last minute goal sent everyone home nice and cheerful! I listened on the radio, we played them off the park for half an hour, missed a few good chances, lost confidence, became more and more jittery and eventually let one in 2 minutes into injury time. Grim stuff!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 23rd November, 2002.
SOCIAL NIGHT
See a report and photographs... Social Night 2002.
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Dublin Hammers Meeting - 17th November, 2002.
WEST HAM 1 vs MANCHESTER UTD 1.
A few faces were missing for this one, but then again a few showed that haven't been seen for a while, so like the game we assembled to watch, it was equals.
And so off we went on another rollercoster ride... we started well with defoe looking very sharp... i'm sure I say this for everyone, but I could'nt help feeling that no matter how good we were, we were likely to concede at any moment... then 'blow me down' young defoe scored... que mayhem for about 5 seconds, just long enough to realise it had been ruled out for off-side? a somewhat dodgy decision... some members suggested the ref, dressed in a yellow top with black shorts and socks was wearing the new manc away strip! Although weakened by injuries the mancs still had enough quality about them, and sure enough they scored a good goal 10 minutes before half time... here we go again... we stated slowly in the second half and were very lucky not to be two down shortly after the re-start, however 'fair play' to west ham they got it together again and as we entered the last 15 minutes it was pretty much one way traffic... time and time again the crosses and corners went into the manc area, only to be cleared or scrambled away... "anyone got any more nails? I've eaten all mine" was a cry from the agitated watchers... and then... yes... a scramble... the ball falls to defoe... and showing all the class we know he has, the ball hit the back of the net... que complete mayhem, thankfully lasting a little longer than our earlier joy. With 5 minutes left we hung on... just... james making an astounding save in the closing seconds. Phew!
A fair result overall and it was good to see defoe clutching a large bottle of 'man of the match' champagne, smiling broadly... just like most members! Another good meeting.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 10th November, 2002.
WEST HAM 3 vs LEEDS UTD 4.
It was standing room only... you lot do like a sunday afternoon meeting! (especially an early kick-off, could this have anything to do with the increased drinking time?).
Well the match kicked off and we hoped that this would be the day it all came right. After 10 minutes things were looking bright as we looked up for the game... for a change... then we let in a soft goal... here we go again was the general feeling, but thankfully we kept at them and a few minutes later we were level, as di canio finished well as the Leeds goalkeeper could only parry a shot from joe cole. So there we all were, shouting and urging the Hammers on. And then it all went horribly wrong! We let in three soft goals... repka had a nightmare, and seemed more up for a ruck with viduka than performing his defensive duties. The last goal was a pure comedy of errors... so 4-1 down at half-time then. Sky showed footage of fans leaving upton park in disgust... we got another round of drinks in!
"It was a game of two halves terry"... never truer than this game. Two half time substitutions by Roeder (one of them repka) and from the whistle we were at their throats. It was'nt long before di canio had a good penalty claim turned down, only to get up and 'mug the ref' minutes later into giving us a penalty. The man himself stepped up to slam the ball into the back of the net. And still we went at them... the cross came in and tricky trev headed a sweet goal at the near post to set up a grandstand finish. By this time the meeting had become enthusiastic to say the least. We came close a couple of times to scoring the equaliser... but it was'nt to be.
I only hope that we can continue where we left off when we play the mancs next week. We might just give 'em a game. A good meeting and see ya next week!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 27th October, 2002.
WEST HAM 0 vs EVERTON 1.
Sunday afternoon meetings have always had a high attendance, and this one was no exception, the place was packed, and with standing room only available the match kicked off to cries of 'Come on you Irons".
Half way through the first half members were complaining of feeling sleepy due to the complete lack of incident in a mundane match? West Ham looked clueless, while Everton closed us down well and made a couple of chances to score. I have never been at a meeting that was so subdued? Half-time came and went and the match continued in much the same vain. We knew it was coming... and it did, 15 minutes before time Everton finally took one of the chances they were making. At 1-0 down West Ham suddenly started to play with some passion and drive going close on a couple of occasions, but it was all too little, too late. Angry shouts greeted the final whistle... a poor performance to say the least.
The stats for this years meetings do not make good reading;
Games on TV = 4. Won = 1 (on penos). Drawn = 0. Games Lost = 3. Goals for = 3. Goals against = 8.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 1st October, 2002.
CHESTERFIELD 1 vs WEST HAM 1 (AET). WHUFC WIN 5-4 ON PENALTIES.
With 5 minutes to go before kick-off, there were only four of us sat in front of the TV? Thankfully, it did'nt take too long to fill up once the game started. And members enjoyed seeing a full strength West Ham start confidently, passing the ball well and making plenty of openings. When Defoe powered in our goal, it looked as if it would be the first of many! However, our finishing was poor to say the least! Still at the break things were still looking good, with the prospect of more goals for the Hammers to come.
Then low and behold, Chesterfield scored a good goal early in the second half. West Ham then huffed and puffed and lost their way somewhat, still managing to create chances, although nearly all of the chances went wide of the target, or were blocked/deflected by the 'never say die' Chesterfield defence. Then when we did manage to get a shot in on target, the Chesterfield goalkeeper some great saves, bummer!
As the second half came to a close, members become increasingly frustrated! The Stats; West Ham shots on goal; 30 (at least!). On-target; 5. Corners; lost count at 30? Goals; 1. A poor return or wot!
The final whistle sounded, extra time came and went in much the same vain as the second half. The penalty shoot-out began! With last seasons defeat to Reading on penalties still fresh in the mind, a feeling of uneasiness came over the meeting... we beat them 5-4, with Di Canio (with the cheeky chip), Sinclair, Minto, Lomas (somewhat lucky) and Carrick all scoring... and so into the next round!
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 15th September, 2002.
TOTTENHAM 3 vs WEST HAM 2.
I have to confess, I did'nt hold out much hope for this one, but in the end we were very unlucky... it all seems to be going against us at present. The tide will turn, we're far too good to go down (ha! ha!).
Anyway, as usual we had a good turn out and more new faces. Our usual upstairs haunt was out of order, so we all invaded the downstairs public bar much to the bemusement of the regular sunday afternoon punters. When our two goals hit the net the place shook, Nice One Lads!
As for the game, in the first half we put the odd move together, however our finishing was poor with none of our four goal attempts even hitting the target? Second half was a rollercoaster ride... spurs pressure pays off as they take the lead... freddy levels things shortly after... pearce takes out Keane... penalty... and pearce is sent off... Sheringham scores... A quick free kick finds sinclair whose shot finds the net... Joe Cole runs through... the shot?... into the side netting... Gardener runs through... his shot is deflected into the net!.. and with only 3 minutes to go.
Somewhat deflated, I was pleased with the way we kept getting back at them, even with 10 men. I see Glenn Roeder has a new nick-name... The Rat.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 19th August, 2002.
NEWCASTLE UTD 4 vs WEST HAM 0.
And so here we go again! Played one, lost one and bottom of the league already. A good turn out and plenty of new faces saw the Hammers begin the season in classic away form... our cause was'nt helped much by the absence of Lomas, Di Canio (awayday flu) and Kanoute (sore neck?).
We started with Joe Cole up front along side Defoe, (attack of the Diddy Men, anyone remember Cottee and Ward). What can I say, we were poor, I don't think we even had a shot on target the whole game! Cole showed the odd bit of skill, but never in areas to hurt Newcastle, I felt sorry for Defoe, he suffered from a severe lack of service! James battled away in vain, making a couple of fine saves to keep us in contention until the break, but eventually the Newcastle pressure told, once they had got the first we fell apart in our usual style. I think this one is best forgotten, however with Arsenal on the horizon all the usual fears for our fate have come flooding back... Hoo-ray the season's started again! I expect Di Canio and Kanoute to suddenly get better for the Arse game. High profile game, at home... yes I'm sure they are both feeling better already?
Anyway it was good to see everyone again after the break, and there were the usual cracks flying around so things were not too gloomy.
Dublin Hammers Meeting - 12th August, 2002.
EMERGENCY GENERAL MEETING. Report by Charlie O’Rielly.
There were seventeen people in attendance. Aplogies were received from those who were on holidays etc. and one or two others had to work on the particular evening.
15/17 had also attended the AGM so they were familiar with the issues being discussed. The main issue was of course the season tickets. Liam outlined to the floor the confusion that seemed to exist in relation to who was actually going to pay for the tickets. A number of people gave their opinions as to what they believed was the situation. The opinions shared were mixed, about 50/50 I would say. It was accepted by all that obviously because of the timeframe the full-season tickets was not a runner. However it was agreed to pursue the possibility of buying two half-season tickets for the eight home games post-christmas, if they become available.
Mark Duffy made a presentation as to how the scheme would actually work and how the matches would be allocated to the interested members etc. The key here is to ensure the matches are allocated before match tickets go on general sale to the public so that people can still attend these matches if they wish.
Liam then told the floor that this matter would be taken up by the Committee as a whole and that the tickets would be purchased subject to availabilty. Depending on the success of this project the full season ticket option would be examined for the 2003/2004 season.
All meeting reports by Paul Smith except where stated.