Ex-West Ham United and England star Trevor Sinclair joined the Claret and Blue Army at Old Trafford on Sunday
Trevor Sinclair made more than 200 appearances for West Ham United between 1998 and 2003 and was at Old Trafford to witness Slaven Bilic’s side earn a replay in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final. He now thinks the Hammers have what it takes to go on and reach the last four...
It was a pleasure to watch West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday as they played very well and looked as though they were heading for the semi-finals. Early doors in the game, the Hammers took control at times, looked more dangerous and limited Manchester United to very little chances.
Dimitri Payet’s free-kick was absolutely unbelievable. I was sat next to Mark Noble’s Dad and he said to me that before the game he saw Payet score an identical one before hitting about five into row Z!
We were all anticipating row Z but we should have known better. When it went in we all went mad in the stand!
On Mark Noble, he had a great game and I’m looking forward to playing in his Testimonial in two weeks’ time.
Everyone knows that Mark is a terrific midfielder but there was one moment in the United game where he received the ball and took it between two Man United players before spinning off. It just showed what a quality all-round player he’s become.
For me, Payet was unlucky with the penalty incident. He had no reason to go down at the time and he got a nick.
For the Man United goal, watching the replays back, there was definitely an offside and I think Darren Randolph, who did well when called upon, was impeded. A foul and offside would have been the correct call, but the officials failed to see that.
The other appeal, for United, when the ball cannoned up onto Winston Reid’s arm was never a penalty, either. There is nothing he can do about that so you can’t give those types of decisions.
I felt West Ham just about did enough to win it, but it actually could be a blessing in disguise because it gives the Club another humongous game under the lights at the Boleyn Ground. It will be packed out and if the side can get themselves over the line and into the semi-finals it will be a wonderful evening once again.
The fact that those in the stands came away from Old Trafford disappointed shows how far the Club has come. The belief has grown, not just on the pitch, but in the stands too. They’ve seen what this side can do.
The lads on the bench proved how strong this squad is. There was real quality there and every player could have come on and affected the game in a positive way for West Ham.
Slaven Bilic will probably be able to recruit even further in the summer so there are going to be new faces and arrivals and his scouting system is doing wonders. I think that sets West Ham apart from others in the Premier League and he’s already proved himself with his recruits last summer.
The players will be a bit gutted they didn’t get the job done at Old Trafford but like I say, for me it’s a blessing in disguise.
This team knows they can go on and beat Man United in the replay so let’s have another great night under the lights and finish the job off.
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of West Ham United.
It was a pleasure to watch West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday as they played very well and looked as though they were heading for the semi-finals. Early doors in the game, the Hammers took control at times, looked more dangerous and limited Manchester United to very little chances.
Dimitri Payet’s free-kick was absolutely unbelievable. I was sat next to Mark Noble’s Dad and he said to me that before the game he saw Payet score an identical one before hitting about five into row Z!
We were all anticipating row Z but we should have known better. When it went in we all went mad in the stand!
On Mark Noble, he had a great game and I’m looking forward to playing in his Testimonial in two weeks’ time.
Everyone knows that Mark is a terrific midfielder but there was one moment in the United game where he received the ball and took it between two Man United players before spinning off. It just showed what a quality all-round player he’s become.
For me, Payet was unlucky with the penalty incident. He had no reason to go down at the time and he got a nick.
For the Man United goal, watching the replays back, there was definitely an offside and I think Darren Randolph, who did well when called upon, was impeded. A foul and offside would have been the correct call, but the officials failed to see that.
The other appeal, for United, when the ball cannoned up onto Winston Reid’s arm was never a penalty, either. There is nothing he can do about that so you can’t give those types of decisions.
I felt West Ham just about did enough to win it, but it actually could be a blessing in disguise because it gives the Club another humongous game under the lights at the Boleyn Ground. It will be packed out and if the side can get themselves over the line and into the semi-finals it will be a wonderful evening once again.
The fact that those in the stands came away from Old Trafford disappointed shows how far the Club has come. The belief has grown, not just on the pitch, but in the stands too. They’ve seen what this side can do.
The lads on the bench proved how strong this squad is. There was real quality there and every player could have come on and affected the game in a positive way for West Ham.
Slaven Bilic will probably be able to recruit even further in the summer so there are going to be new faces and arrivals and his scouting system is doing wonders. I think that sets West Ham apart from others in the Premier League and he’s already proved himself with his recruits last summer.
The players will be a bit gutted they didn’t get the job done at Old Trafford but like I say, for me it’s a blessing in disguise.
This team knows they can go on and beat Man United in the replay so let’s have another great night under the lights and finish the job off.
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of West Ham United.