HamburgHammer shrugs his shoulders at dire draw against very average Spurs team. Even London derbies are losing their appeal now. Maybe a massive shake-up this summer is needed to at least make our football worth watching again.
What the hell is happening to the fiery and feisty derbies we used to know against our favourite foes from North London ? When I am saying that for me the game yesterday was dull as dishwater, that's a bit of an insult to a good vintage of dishwater in my neck of the woods. I remember that our games of yore against Spurs of were always cracking encounters, with every player being very much aware of what this game meant to supporters. West Ham didn't win too many of these derbies, but the games always took on special importance. And it showed even during the odd heavy defeat. I remember glorious games, the one in February 1997 on a wet and blustery night at Upton Park which saw the unfurling of the John Hartson/Paul Kitson combo. Who could forget Obiang's belter at Wembley in 2018 ? Or THAT late screamer by Manuel Lanzini, which completed the comeback from being 3:0 down to a crazy 3:3 draw in 2020 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ?
Yesterday though left me cold for long periods of the game. Bowen's goal was a beautiful thing to behold, granted. Also the crowd at London Stadium tried their utmost to create a typical derby atmosphere, but somehow I felt it didn't really sparked our team into a similar mood. Maybe the players are just too tired at this point in what has been a thoroughly disappointing season. Maybe some players know they won't be here beyond summer and therefore are already elsewhere in their minds. I couldn't quite believe how much this felt like just another PL fixture. If you had removed the crests and sponsors from the shirts, I might have guessed it was West Ham playing Ipswich. Because not only West Ham, Spurs also looked a mere shadow of their former selves. A win against Tottenham would have given this terrible season at least a sweet layer of icing, a final opportunity to raise a bit of a smile, alas, no can do!
Random thought about Spurs: Looking at Richarlison, whenever he plays, two minor observations are creeping into my head. One, I always want to call him Richardson. Maybe the lady typing his birth certificate dropped her lunch box on the keyboard.
Two, I can't help but think he looks incredibly dim. As if he couldn't tie his own shoelaces. Or if you asked him to count to ten he would begin to struggle after three. But the Spurs shirt is a good fit for him, so that is something!
During the game I went through the list of our players in my mind and struggled to find too many of them I particularly cared about staying: AWB, JWP, Souček, Bowen, Füllkrug. That's about it. I also wondered why Potter didn't start at least one youngster while also putting another two of them on the bench. That's a sure-fire way to keep the fans on your side when things get a bit rough in a game. Also lads like Scarles, Casey, Orford or Ajala don't need a leaflet explaining to them what games against Spurs mean to our fans. It's rare for me to not get excited about the prospect of another transfer window coming up. But this time it's all strange vibes and an unhealthy feeling of apathy towards anything happening at West Ham. However, maybe that's a good thing in a strange kind of way. No expectations whatsoever, can David Sullivan limbo under that low bar still with his summer shenanigans ? Even that question at this point doesn't fire up my imagination. Still, COYI!!!
On a personal note, I did my first nude hike on Friday. There is one of only two official nude trails in Germany just about 50 kilometers away from Hamburg in the Lüneburg Heath region (Yes, not far from Schneverdingen where West Ham played a friendly against Bremen several years ago). That hike isn't overly spectacular in terms of natural beauty, it's mainly forest, the odd field and a hunter's high seat or two but it's easy enough to walk and only 10 kilometers long. Pretty much ideal to improve your tan during a stroll lasting two or three hours. On sunny days it can get quite busy, but as it was a bit cloudy during my walk I met only five or six other nude hikers and also some clothed ones, some of them on bikes or mounted on a horse. I still find this a bit unfair when clothed folks use trails marked out with the yellow letter N (for nude or naked) on trees or signs. On a legal level, clothed people are entitled to use any nudist trail while nudists obviously are in tricky waters when they're trying to walk on a 'normal' public path in the buff. Even if you were to pick a remote forest area for a nude hike where hardly any other person is likely to wander: If you then happen to run into a random clothed person, maybe walking their dog, and that person was heavily opposed to nudism and they decided to call the police because they felt disgusted or threatened when faced with a naked man or woman walking by, the naturist would be in danger of all kinds of bureaucratic and legal hassle. Hence, I prefer to use the official naked trails, the one near Hamburg or, when on holiday there, the one in the Harz region...
It was fancy scarf lady's birthday yesterday which she chose to spend with her bestie female friend. I didn't really mind that because I was quite keen to watch the West Ham game, so I just gave her my best wishes for her big day on the phone while reminding her of the three course home-cooked birthday dinner waiting for her once she is back from her holiday in the south of Germany. If I may say so myself, as a foodie I am immensely looking forward to that dinner myself because it is going to be yummy and a good mix of healthy stuff and comfort food...I can't wait.
Hamburg football update: What a statement of intent by HSV who demolished Darmstadt to the tune of a glorious 4:0 away win which keeps them top of the table of Bundelsiga 2 with two games left. Can you believe this league ? Still 8 (EIGHT!!!) teams in the mix for promotion, automatic or via the playoffs against the 16th-placed team from the top flight. One win is needed for Hamburg to make mathematically sure which, in theory, should be a piece of cake for them as they're facing Ulm at home (who are still fighting relegation) and Fürth away on the final day (who might already be safe at that stage, with nothing left to play for than pride). Depending on results going their way, HSV could get promoted automatically anyway without getting another point, but let's not think along those lines. If they intend to mess things up like in previous years, they have to be really sloppy and negligent. My gut feeling: This is the year HSV finally go up again...
Poor St.Pauli suffered a 1:0 defeat at home against Stuttgart (who had lost to Pauli's relegation rivals Heidenheim the week before). St.Pauli conceded a penalty due to handball which also got their player sent off for a second booking. The brilliant goalkeeper (Bosnia's national GK Nikola Vasilj) saved both the penalty and also the shot from the rebound and added some more great saves throughout the game, still Stuttgart scored in the 88th minute and then chaos took over. Vasilj couldn't keep his Bosnian temper in check when he got a yellow for apparent time-wasting (by a player from a team chasing a goal, mind!), he looked at the ref and gave him an instant silent thumbs-up gesture which the ref interpreted as mocking his authority, prompting him to produce a straight second yellow. So, this should give you some relief as the PPLclearly doesn't have the monopoly on bad refereeing performances. Still, St.Pauli are in a great spot to stay up regardless. The gap between them and Heidenheim is still five points as the latter only managed a draw at home against bottom club Bochum. So, the Boys in Brown are safe unless they fail to gain another point and Heidenheim win both their remaining games at Union Berlin and at home against Bremen. Ain't gonna happen.